LORIS, S.C. (WBTW) — National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials say we’re in the peak of “Solar Cycle 25,” a cycle that allows for more solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
Those discharges can disrupt some electronics, including solar-powered farming equipment.
Shawn Dahl, the coordinator for the Space Weather and Predictions Center under NOAA spoke about how they expect the peak of the Solar Cycle 25 to happen either later this year or early next year. They’re warning farmers about how the solar activity can continue to occur.
Dahl said the current solar activity is one of the most extreme disturbances they’ve seen since 2003, especially during May’s geomagnetic storm.
“So, geomagnetic storms are a major magnetic disturbance around Earth because we have this protective magnetic barrier called the magnetosphere,” he said. “And when things from the sun arrive here at Earth, some of them in particular can cause a major disturbance in our magnetic field.”
As Solar Cycle 25 continues, Dahl said geomagnetic storms at this severe level are expected to continue later in the year, which can impact farmers equipment.