JULY 15 2012 CME Solar Flare Update; Freak Tornados Hit Poland

AURORA ALERT: A geomagnetic storm is in progress as Earth's magnetic field continues to reverberate from a CME strike on July 14th. Sky watchers in Scandinavia, Canada, Alaska and northern-tier US states from Maine to Washington should be alert for auroras after nightfall. Observing tip: The hours around local midnight are usually best for aurora-spotting. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

When the CME first arrived on July 14th, its effect appeared weak. However, conditions in the wake of the CME have since become stormy. On July 14-15 Northern Lights appeared in the United States as far south as California, Colorado, Missouri, Utah, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Washington, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan and Arkansas. Brad Goldpaint sends this picture of the auroras reflecting from Sparks Lake in central Oregon:

Meanwhile in the southern hemisphere, the aurora australis has been sighted in New Zealand, Australia, and directly above the South Pole itself. Visit our aurora gallery for a complete set of images:

 

Poland shocked by tornadoes, one dead

WARSAW (Reuters) - A freak wave of tornadoes ripped through northern Poland on Sunday, wrecking houses and swathes of forest and leaving one person dead and another 10 injured.

Tornadoes are not unknown in the European Union's largest eastern country but the scope and power of Sunday's twisters was unusual and comes in a summer already marked by flash floods, hailstorms and gales.

Some 1,200 rescuers were working to remove fallen trees, unblock roads and restore utilities in the hardest hit Baltic region of Pomerania.

Trees were uprooted, buildings damaged and power lines downed, while some 550 hectares of woodlands in the Tuchola Forest area were flattened.    Read Story >>>