In case you haven't heard, there has been some solar activity over the last couple of days that has thrown storms of electrical particles at the earth. For the most part although the storms have been notable, they have been relatively harmless. However, a storm was released this morning (10/28) that is the strongest since 1989 and the third strongest on record. In 1989 the storm triggered power outages in Canada. There are some technical variables that may effect how hard we are hit, but the storm is in a direct path to the earth and is expected to hit around noon Wednesday (10/29).
Besides a real colorful sky, satellites and other electrical equipment could be affected. This could include power outages. The storm will last for several hours with the potential for problems decreasing as time passes.
In addition to pulling out the old lead umbrella I would suggest that you be alert for potential issues that could affect your IT equipment. If the power does go out shut equipment that are on UPSs down and power off everything. After the power comes back on I would suggest waiting for a short period before powering everything back up. Many times surges will occur immediately after power is restored that can cause problems.
This should be mostly harmless other than the fact that your cell phone may not work for a while. But it's always better to be prepared! For more information click here.
