The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has issued a moderate geomagnetic storm warning today, predicting that its effects will significantly intensify starting around 5 p.m. on June 8 and last for 21 hours. The CWA warns that satellite navigation, radio communications, and the power grid may experience brief disruptions.

A geomagnetic storm is a disturbance of the planet’s magnetosphere during the exchange of energy from solar wind into the space environment surrounding Earth. The resulting currents add energy in the form of heat that can cause extra drag on low-earth orbit satellites. This heat also creates strong variations, which can change the path of radio signals and generate errors in the positioning information provided by GPS and other navigation systems such as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). While the results may sometimes create beautiful auroras, harmful geomagnetic induced currents (GICs) in the power grid and pipelines may also occur.

Based on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) WSA-Enlil prediction model data, the current storm will gain in intensity and continue until approximately 2 p.m. on June 9.