Solar Storm Shakes Earth Magnetic Field, After Reports It Had Fizzled

"A solar storm shook the Earth’s magnetic field early Friday, but scientists said they had no reports of any problems with electrical systems. After reports Thursday of the storm fizzling out, a surge of activity prompted space weather forecasters to issue alerts about changes in the magnetic field."

"'We really haven’t had any reports from power system operators yet,' Rob Steenburgh, a space weather forecaster at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo., said early Friday. 'But sometimes they don’t come in until after the storm.'

He said the storm reached a moderate level late Thursday, before going to a strong level early Friday. For most of Thursday, it was rated as minor."

Seth Borenstein reports for the Associated Press March 9, 2012.

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"Solar Storm Not as Strong as Experts Feared" (USA TODAY)