“CANNIBAL” CORONAL MASS EJECTION (CME) INBOUND
NOAA forecasters say the cumulative effect of a series of Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) will result in a strong G3-class geomagnetic storms between Aug 18 – Aug 19. The discharges have stacked-up on one another, or “cannibalized”.
During G3-storms naked-eye auroras can descend into the USA as far south as geomagnetic latitude 50 degrees — that’s Illinois and Oregon, possibly even lower.
Perturbations to the power grid are also possible, particularly given Earth’s ever-waning magnetic field strength.
Active sunspot ‘AR3078’ has been flaring almost constantly since it developed its delta-class magnetic field:
AR3078 has been flaring consistently.
The strongest flare so far, an M5 on Aug 16, produced a shortwave radio blackout over the Indian Ocean:
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The remaining two CMEs associated with this recent flaring are predicted to combine and impact Earth’s magnetic field during the late hours of Aug 18, accordung to NOAA’s latest modelling (shown below).
The combo consists of Aug 14’s dark plasma eruption and Aug 15’s exploding magnetic filament.
Cannibal CMEs contain tangled magnetic fields and compressed plasmas that can spark strong geomagnetic storms.
NOAA forecasters recently upgraded their geomagnetic storm watch from category G2 (moderate) to category G3 (strong).
This will likely mean KP Index readings of 6, possibly even 7 on Thursday into Friday, and will bring the familiar health risks associated with such activity: top of the list being heart rate fluctuations and full blown heart attacks/strokes.
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