Solar flare activity aligned with cellular network outage, unlikely the cause

Josh Cozart
·1 min read

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Reports of multiple cellular outages were reported early Thursday morning. These outages aligned with an uptick in solar flare activity.

NOAA/NWS Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) constantly monitors the activity of the sun. Two major solar flares were observed on Wednesday and Thursday. That aligned with when cellular outages were being reported.

AT&T, other cellular providers see significant outages

The Space Weather Prediction Center said, “While solar flares can affect communication systems, radar, and the Global Positioning System… it is unlikely that these flares contributed to the widely reported cellular network outage.”

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Solar flares are a common occurrence and can result in the production of the northern lights or aurora borealis.

<em>Radio Blackout solar flare scale strength from the NOAA/NWS Space Weather Predication Center</em>
Radio Blackout solar flare scale strength from the NOAA/NWS Space Weather Predication Center

The two separate solar flares recorded Wednesday and Thursday were on the stronger magnitude. The two “R3” strength solar flares observed can impact the world. “Wide area blackouts of radio communication, loss of radio contact for about an hour on the sunlit side of Earth are possible,” stated the Radio Blackout scale from the NOAA/NWS Space Weather Prediction Center. NOAA and the SWPC stated that monitoring of solar activity and the impacts it could have on the world will continue.

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