Magnetic storms can disrupt or destroy some of Earth's technological infrastructure. Next year may bring another magnetic storm, at least as bad as 1989, maybe worse. The sunspot count over predetermined periods is an established indicator of solar output. The 2000 sunspot count could reach 190. During peak times, Coronal Mass Ejections, huge breakoff blobs of plasma carrying part of the Sun's magnetic field, also become more common.
CMEs leave the Sun in all directions, and some reach Earth.
Depending on their magnetic polarity, the Earth's magnetic field can either repel them, in which case they're harmless, or attract them with a bang. Then the result is far greater than usual magnetic disturbance and ionospheric auroral activity, as in 1989. These large conductive networks induce currents of hundreds of amperes. Power systems are vulnerable because the longer the lines, the greater the voltage difference, and the stronger the effects. Also they channel the geomagnetically induced currents towards vulnerable components, such as transformers.