Media Reports About a Massive Geomagnetic Storm Hitting Earth on March 18 Are Inaccurate, NOAA Says (newsweek.com)

Several news outlets this week are reporting that Earth is expecting a "massive magnetic storm" on March 18. Yeah, so that's not happening, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) told Newsweek and other outlets. From a report: And they would know: Not only does NOAA help people build forecasts for weather here on Earth, they also predict space weather events like geomagnetic storms. "This story is not plausible in any way, shape or form," Bob Rutledge, who leads NOAA's Space Weather Forecast Center, told Newsweek via e-mail. "Things are all quiet for space weather, and the sun is essentially spotless." The magnetic storm's "imminent" arrival was one of Monday morning's top science news stories, according to Google News. But most coverage appeared to be based on a misinterpretation of a chart posted on Russia's Lebedev Institute's website showing a minor uptick in geomagnetic activity on the 18th. That elevated activity is expected to be a minor storm at most.

Comments

Ok that's why

[Anonymous Coward]

This is why I don't get my weather information from "news" outlets.

Re:Ok that's why

[bobstreo]

Or we are completely doomed! And the government is hiding this from us so we don't go running the the streets looting and rioting.

Please not this is a sarcastic statement, do not take it as fact. (and ignore the man with the black suite behind me)

Is the black suite located near the rouge room? /s

Re:Ok that's why

[rtb61]

Well, make no mistake, if you do not prepare, then yes, you are fucking doomed and it is only a matter of time. Perhaps this exaggerated story is not all bad, if it makes people think about the consequences of a real one which will inevitably happen, and in an unprotected digital world cause extremely severe ramifications, that will take months to repair. No manual systems in place to repair digital systems damaged to the extent they are incapable of repairing themselves. This causing repair time to blow out disastrously. Take no notice, no one will care, until it is too late and then everyone will be complaining about it on the internet, oh wait, they won't because the internet will be down for quite some time. For the simple, oh look, major solar storm, all the companies computers down, have to drive to work, oh wait my car doesn't work, it needs fixing, I'll call the repairman, oh wait the phone doesn't work. So can't even get to work, to try to use a computer that doesn't to order replacements, across a network that doesn't work, to a spare parts company who can not receive it because their computers are down and there is no staff to fill the order and can not even find the product in the warehouse and on it goes. A major solar storm would be a major disaster and make no mistake, the consequences would be really bad for quite some time. Imagine a modern digital police force required to operate manually for a month.

Sure

[110010001000]

Thats what THEY want you to believe. I am wrapping my head in tinfoil. They won't make a fool of me!

Russians interfering again

[tomhath]

They're interfering with our electromagnetic interference; better start another investigation. I blame Jared for this.

I was expecting a spectacular aurora but...

[SuperKendall]

...instead got fake views!

Re:I was expecting a spectacular aurora but...

[tonique]

There will likely be aurorae tomorrow (or the day after that) but polewards from the arctic/antarctic circle. There is a coronal hole in the Sun (but no sunspots right now).

Massive Hangover Predicted

[goombah99]

The National St. Paddy's Forecasting center is predicting a violent disruption of geospatial equilibrium and thought competence the morning of March 18th.

Re:Massive Hangover Predicted

[bobstreo]

The National St. Paddy's Forecasting center is predicting a violent disruption of geospatial equilibrium and thought competence the morning of March 18th.

Has the global warming due to green beer and green rivers alert been published yet?

It's a question of degree

[93 Escort Wagon]

The University of Alaska - Fairbanks does predict high auroral activity the night of the 18th.

So, depending on where you live, you might get to see some aurora that night - but nothing like the "news" going around the web.

http://spaceweather.com/ blank as paper

[swschrad]

worst case an A3 flare, which won't even color the sky in Norway, is the 24 hour prediction.

No jackbooted facts treading on our freedoms!

[GameboyRMH]

In today's post-truth world, people are allowed to believe their own facts in the face of those pushed by so called "experts" and "people who actually know what the fuck they're talking about." So to anyone out there who wishes to believe in the alternative fact that Earth's technology will be set back to the 1700s on Sunday, you should feel free to sell me all of your soon-to-be-useless electronics which I will pay above-scrap prices for. I will use them to build a post-apocalyptic museum to teach the young ones about the before-times. Don't worry about scrubbing valuable personal information from them either, that will all be deleted when the geomagnetic storm hits.