November 11, 2025, 22:00 Eastern Standard Time
A severe magnetic storm commenced suddenly at 19:10 Eastern on November 11, 2025, with the arrival at Earth of a coronal-mass ejection (CME) from the Sun. The storm is ongoing but appears to have passed maximum strength. According to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) geomagnetic disturbance index, which classifies storms on a scale from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme), the storm attained a G4 (severe) level of disturbance.
Storms of this intensity can interfere with aeromagnetic surveys, directional drilling for oil and gas, satellite operations, GPS positioning and timing signals, and over-the-horizon radio communication, but they do not usually cause interruption of electric-power-transmission.
Associated auroras (northern lights) have been observed (and reported in the press) as far south as the Utah and Pennsylvania.
For comparison, a magnetic storm that struck on May 10-12, 2024, attained a G5 level of disturbance. Since then, the storms on January 1, 2025, and June 1, 2025, attained G4. We are presently in the early declining phase of the solar cycle. There is a high chance of several additional G4 storms (or even a G5 storm) occurring in the next year or two.
The present storm is being monitored at USGS magnetometer observatories across the US and its territories. The data from these observatories are relied upon by NOAA SWPC and the Air Force 557th Weather Wing to estimate the intensity of the magnetic storm on the Earth’s surface.
Geomagnetic declination at College (Fairbanks), Alaska, varied by 1.8 degrees, enough to be seen on a compass.
A conventional measure of magnetic-storm strength is the (low-latitude) disturbance index known as Dst. This index measures disturbance relative to quiet, non-stormy conditions. The USGS calculates a real-time Dst index useful for diagnosing the state of space weather during magnetic storms. Soon after the November 11-12 storm commenced, USGS Dst increased to 103 nT, indicating the development, in response to solar-wind pressure, of electric currents on the magnetopause (outer boundary of the magnetosphere in the upper atmosphere). This has been followed by a relatively rapid descent into the storm's main phase, and amplification of the magnetospheric ring current (a current that flows around the Earth’s equator in space), as indicated by Dst declining to negative values. Dst has, thus far, attained a minimum of -160 nT.
The great storm of March 1989, which caused widespread interference to technological systems around the world, including power systems in the U.S. and a power blackout in Québec, attained a Dst value of -589 nT. The Carrington superstorm of September 1859, which caused widespread interference to telegraph systems, attained a Dst value of about -900 nT.
The USGS Geomagnetism Program operates 14 magnetic observatories across the U.S. and territories; the Program also collaborates with the USGS Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory in operation of just over three dozen variometers across CONUS; and it supports magnetotelluric surveys. The Geomagnetism Program disseminates magnetic data in real-time to governmental (both civilian and military), academic, and private institutions. Program scientists conduct research into the nature of geomagnetic variations for purposes of scientific understanding and hazard mitigation.
A recent factsheet on the solar cycle, geology, and geoelectric hazards for power grids can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20243036
A map of geoelectric amplitudes for the United States, such as would be induced by a storm as intense as the 1859 Carrington storm: https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL116835
A paper on the collaboration between the Geomagnetism Program and the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory: https://doi.org/10.1785/0220250185
Sincerely, Jeffrey J. Love and Gavin P. Hayes
For press enquiries, please contact Jeffrey J. Love (jlove@usgs.gov).
General enquiries about the Geomagnetism Program should be directed to Kristen A. Lewis (klewis@usgs.gov).
November 11, 2025, 22:00 Eastern Standard Time
A severe magnetic storm commenced suddenly at 19:10 Eastern on November 11, 2025, with the arrival at Earth of a coronal-mass ejection (CME) from the Sun. The storm is ongoing but appears to have passed maximum strength. According to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) geomagnetic disturbance index, which classifies storms on a scale from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme), the storm attained a G4 (severe) level of disturbance.
Storms of this intensity can interfere with aeromagnetic surveys, directional drilling for oil and gas, satellite operations, GPS positioning and timing signals, and over-the-horizon radio communication, but they do not usually cause interruption of electric-power-transmission.
Associated auroras (northern lights) have been observed (and reported in the press) as far south as the Utah and Pennsylvania.
For comparison, a magnetic storm that struck on May 10-12, 2024, attained a G5 level of disturbance. Since then, the storms on January 1, 2025, and June 1, 2025, attained G4. We are presently in the early declining phase of the solar cycle. There is a high chance of several additional G4 storms (or even a G5 storm) occurring in the next year or two.
The present storm is being monitored at USGS magnetometer observatories across the US and its territories. The data from these observatories are relied upon by NOAA SWPC and the Air Force 557th Weather Wing to estimate the intensity of the magnetic storm on the Earth’s surface.
Geomagnetic declination at College (Fairbanks), Alaska, varied by 1.8 degrees, enough to be seen on a compass.
A conventional measure of magnetic-storm strength is the (low-latitude) disturbance index known as Dst. This index measures disturbance relative to quiet, non-stormy conditions. The USGS calculates a real-time Dst index useful for diagnosing the state of space weather during magnetic storms. Soon after the November 11-12 storm commenced, USGS Dst increased to 103 nT, indicating the development, in response to solar-wind pressure, of electric currents on the magnetopause (outer boundary of the magnetosphere in the upper atmosphere). This has been followed by a relatively rapid descent into the storm's main phase, and amplification of the magnetospheric ring current (a current that flows around the Earth’s equator in space), as indicated by Dst declining to negative values. Dst has, thus far, attained a minimum of -160 nT.
The great storm of March 1989, which caused widespread interference to technological systems around the world, including power systems in the U.S. and a power blackout in Québec, attained a Dst value of -589 nT. The Carrington superstorm of September 1859, which caused widespread interference to telegraph systems, attained a Dst value of about -900 nT.
The USGS Geomagnetism Program operates 14 magnetic observatories across the U.S. and territories; the Program also collaborates with the USGS Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory in operation of just over three dozen variometers across CONUS; and it supports magnetotelluric surveys. The Geomagnetism Program disseminates magnetic data in real-time to governmental (both civilian and military), academic, and private institutions. Program scientists conduct research into the nature of geomagnetic variations for purposes of scientific understanding and hazard mitigation.
A recent factsheet on the solar cycle, geology, and geoelectric hazards for power grids can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20243036
A map of geoelectric amplitudes for the United States, such as would be induced by a storm as intense as the 1859 Carrington storm: https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL116835
A paper on the collaboration between the Geomagnetism Program and the Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory: https://doi.org/10.1785/0220250185
Sincerely, Jeffrey J. Love and Gavin P. Hayes
For press enquiries, please contact Jeffrey J. Love (jlove@usgs.gov).
General enquiries about the Geomagnetism Program should be directed to Kristen A. Lewis (klewis@usgs.gov).