OREANDA-NEWS On Wednesday, December 3, the first "winter" magnetic storm is expected on Earth, scientists from the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the IKI RAS have warned.

The cause of the geomagnetic fluctuations will be several factors: another coronal hole in the Sun, the release of plasma after the December 1 outbreak of the X-level.

Magnetic field disturbances are likely to not exceed the average G2 level, but may be quite prolonged. The storm is expected to "calm down" only by the weekend.

Scientists recalled that during magnetic storms, an increase in the likelihood of auroras is expected. Although the G2 storm level is usually insufficient for observing auroras in the European part of the country, this relationship is not a simple linear one, and surprises are possible.

Earlier, Russians were told about the risk of a repeat on Earth of the most powerful magnetic storm that occurred in 1859 and led to a power outage.