INCOMING: Solar Flare CME to impact Earth tonight, strongest over the Weekend

Published on January 20, 2012 - 12:20 pm PT - By TWS Staff Reporter - Edited by Staff Editor

(TheWeatherSpace.com) - A M-class CME solar flare blasted toward the Earth just over a day ago. This solar flare was a full halo CME, which means it was large, wide, and directly toward the planet.

Forecasters at the Space Weather Prediction Center say the start of the effects will arrive this evening, United States time. If you have clear skies then you may catch the bright northern lights, extending down into the Central United States through the weekend. The best time for aurora will be overnight on Saturday and into Sunday.

Many are saying an M-Class is not all that strong and won't do anything, however TheWeatherSpace.com Senior Meteorologist Kevin Martin explains why one is.

"It is not the strength of the flare, but the direction, speed, and impact on the planet," said Martin. "You can have an X-Class solar flare coming and it won't hit right for any major impacts. Most of our major events that impacted the planet, taking cell service and GPS out were M-Class events, similar to this one."

The M-Class is a full halo CME, the type to bring a classic solar storm to the planet upon impact. Don't be alarmed to see your GPS place you far from where you are or take some time to locate you. This should impact electronic devices worldwide, arriving in just under six hours from now.

Update by KMartin 1/20/2012 2:00 p.m. PT

The arrival is tonight, but the bulk of it occurs over the weekend so skywatchers across the world will have plenty of time to see the aurora -

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