They don't know precisely when one will hit, and they can only estimate the potential damage. Still, forecasters at the Space Weather Operations Center in Boulder, Colo., warn that catastrophic space storms could cripple military communications systems and shut down electric power to soldiers and civilians. The center is jointly operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Air Force. It's time for it to repeat, so we should be alert.
Government scientists issue daily bulletins on solar weather conditions to the military.
A five-point scale rates the intensity of geomagnetic storms. During a solar storm, high-energy electrons emitted from the sun hit the Earth, which can affect satellite performance. This extreme ultraviolet image of the sun was taken from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft. In 1989, a geomagnetic storm left more than 6 million people in Quebec without power for 12 hours. Space storms generally run in 11-year cycles, although there have been several relatively minor solar flares since then, officials said.