# Is there a geomagnetic storm right now? > NOAA's latest three-hour Kp index and the solar wind measured upstream of Earth, what the G1–G5 storm scale means, and why aurora spread from the poles. HTML: https://www.theuniversecounts.com/solar-system/space-weather/geomagnetic-storms Numbers as of 2026-10-31 03:44 UTC. Live ones keep changing on the HTML page. NOAA's latest estimate of the Kp index, for the last completed three-hour interval, is 3. Kp measures how hard Earth's magnetic field is being shaken. At Kp 5 or above, NOAA counts a geomagnetic storm. Its own data also label a reading a third lower as a minor storm, so a number just under the line can count too. Lower than that, there is no storm. Kp always describes the recent past, not this minute. Upstream of Earth, the wind from the Sun is blowing at 350 kilometres per second. - Planetary K-index (Kp), latest 3-hour value: 3 - Solar wind speed measured upstream of Earth: 350 km/s - Kp level at which a geomagnetic storm begins (G1): 5 - Time since the May 2024 storm reached G5: 2 y 172 d 16 h - Time since the Carrington event: 167 y 58 d 22 h ## What is a geomagnetic storm? What a storm is The Sun never stops breathing out charged gas. This thin, hot wind streams past Earth all the time. Since you opened this page, it has travelled [counts up live on the page] kilometres. Earth has a shield against it: its magnetic field. The field reaches far out into space, and all of us live inside it. It turns most of the wind aside, though not all of it. Some of the wind's energy always leaks in. Sometimes the Sun throws a vast cloud of charged gas our way. Or a fast stream of wind catches up with the slower wind ahead of it. When either reaches Earth, the magnetic field we live inside shakes for hours, and in the biggest storms for days. That shaking is a geomagnetic storm. It is strongest when the gas carries magnetism pointing the opposite way to Earth's own, which lets more energy pour in. Most storms are minor. A few light up skies far from the poles. ## A wind from the Sun, measured on the way Measured upstream The wind crosses about 150 million kilometres of space to reach us. If it kept today's speed all the way, it would need about 5 days for the trip. An airliner at cruising speed would need about 19 years. At the same speed, the wind would cover the distance from London to New York in about 16 seconds. We sample it before it arrives. Spacecraft wait at a balance point called L1, about 1.5 million kilometres towards the Sun. The wind they measure reaches Earth about 3,750 seconds later. That is roughly an hour, and less when the wind is fast. The speed on this page is a one-minute reading from a NOAA spacecraft at L1. It is published a few minutes after it is measured. So it is a little behind the spacecraft, and still ahead of the wind that will reach us. ## What Kp measures, and when a storm begins Every three hours · The G-scale Magnetometers on the ground feel the field shake. NOAA combines readings from a network of them into one number, the planetary K-index, or Kp. It runs from calm at the bottom to 9 for the most disturbed. Each value covers three hours of UTC time, and it is only published once those hours have ended. So the Kp here always describes the recent past. It is also an estimate, worked out quickly from fewer stations. The official Kp, from Germany's GFZ research centre, comes later and can differ slightly. NOAA's storm scale starts with a minor storm, G1, at Kp 5. Each step up adds a level, to extreme, G5, at Kp 9. Kp moves in steps of a third, and the edge is not quite sharp. NOAA's own data already label a reading a third below the line as G1. Strong storms can strain power grids, disturb satellites and blur radio and navigation signals. ## The breath of the Sun The solar cycle The Sun's activity rises and falls over about 11 years. At the low point it shows few sunspots. At the high point it is crowded with them, and the giant eruptions that can drive storms come more often. In an average cycle, NOAA counts about 1,700 minor storms. Extreme ones come only about 4 times per cycle, and some cycles have none. The cycle we are in, Solar Cycle 25, began in December 2019, when the Sun was at its quietest. In October 2024, NASA and NOAA announced that the Sun had reached the maximum period of the cycle. The Royal Observatory of Belgium, which keeps the world's sunspot record, later placed the peak in that same month. So as of late 2026 we are on the far side of the peak. NOAA expects the next cycle to begin some time between January 2029 and December 2032. Then the Sun's slow breath starts again. ## Lights in our sky Aurora Aurora shine when electrons from space stream down Earth's magnetic field and strike gas high in the air. Oxygen glows green, and higher up, red. Nitrogen can add a purple fringe. On quiet nights the aurora stays in two rings around the magnetic poles. As storms grow, the rings spread towards the equator. NOAA says aurora have been seen down to about 55 degrees of geomagnetic latitude in a moderate storm. In an extreme one, they have reached about 40 degrees. Geomagnetic latitude is measured from the magnetic pole, not the geographic one. So the same Kp means different skies in different places. This page cannot tell you what you will see tonight. NOAA's short-range aurora forecast is made for that. What this page can say is what the light means. Each aurora is a storm made visible: energy from the Sun, let in through our shield, glowing in the air above us. ## The great storms 1 September 1859 · 10 May 2024 On 1 September 1859 the astronomer Richard Carrington was drawing sunspots. Two brilliant patches of light flared up and faded within minutes. The next day, aurora were seen farther from the poles than ever recorded. Telegraph wires carried currents strong enough to shock their operators. NOAA calls it the largest geomagnetic storm on record. Carrington's notes helped link flares on the Sun with storms on Earth. On 10 May 2024, NOAA observed G5 conditions for the first time since October 2003. Kp reached 9, the top of the scale. On NOAA's scale, a storm that strong can push the aurora as far as 40 degrees of geomagnetic latitude. Measured by its effect on Earth's magnetic field, the Carrington storm was still much stronger. Both reached us through the same shield we live inside tonight. ## FAQ ### Is there a geomagnetic storm right now? Look at the Kp index above. If it is 5 or more, there was a storm in the last completed three-hour interval. NOAA's own data also label a reading a third lower as a minor storm. Kp is published only after each interval ends, so a storm that began in the last hour or two may not show yet. The last storm, at Kp 5− or more, ended 9.2 days ago. ### What is the Kp index? A number that measures how strongly Earth's magnetic field is being disturbed, averaged over three hours. It is built from magnetometer readings around the world and runs up to 9. The value here is NOAA's quick estimate. The official one comes later from GFZ in Germany. ### What Kp do I need to see the aurora? It depends on where you are. NOAA says aurora have been seen down to about 55 degrees of geomagnetic latitude in a moderate storm. In an extreme one, they have reached about 40. You also need a dark, clear sky. For your own location, use NOAA's aurora forecast. ### How long does the solar wind take to reach Earth? From the Sun, it takes days: at today's speed, about 5 days. Clouds of material thrown out by the Sun usually take several days too. In the most intense storms, NOAA has seen them arrive in under a day. From L1, where it is measured, the wind needs about 3,750 seconds, roughly an hour. ### What was the Carrington event? The great storm of 1–2 September 1859. It followed a solar flare that Richard Carrington and Richard Hodgson saw on 1 September. Aurora spread far from the poles and telegraph systems failed. NOAA calls it the largest geomagnetic storm on record. ### How often do big geomagnetic storms happen? NOAA counts about 1,700 minor storms in an average 11-year solar cycle, and about 4 extreme ones. Real cycles vary. There was no extreme storm between October 2003 and May 2024. ## Related - [The Sun](https://www.theuniversecounts.com/solar-system/the-sun.md) The wind that shakes our magnetic field tonight left the Sun days ago. When did you last look up and see where it lands? ## Sources - Average length of the Sun's activity cycle (Measured, with error): [NOAA SWPC: NOAA Space Weather Scales](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation); [Living Reviews in Solar Physics: The Solar Cycle (Hathaway 2015; arXiv:1502.07020)](https://doi.org/10.1007/lrsp-2015-4); [NASA NSSDCA: Sun Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/sunfact.html) - Distance from Earth to the L1 point, where the solar wind is measured (Measured): [NOAA SWPC: Aurora Tutorial](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/content/aurora-tutorial) - Earth's average distance from the Sun in kilometres (Measured): [NASA: Earth: Facts](https://science.nasa.gov/earth/facts/) - Earth's circumference at the equator (Measured): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html) - Extreme (G5) geomagnetic storms in an average solar cycle (Estimated): [NOAA SWPC: NOAA Space Weather Scales](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation); [USGS: May 10, 2024 Magnetic Disturbance (peak Dst -351 nT)](https://www.usgs.gov/programs/geomagnetism/science/may-10-2024-magnetic-disturbance-peak-dst-351-nt) - Geomagnetic latitude aurora have reached in a moderate (G2) storm (Estimated): [NOAA SWPC: NOAA Space Weather Scales](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation) - Geomagnetic latitude aurora have reached in an extreme (G5) storm (Estimated): [NOAA SWPC: NOAA Space Weather Scales](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation) - Great-circle distance between London and New York (Measured, with error): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html) - Great-circle distance between London and Sydney (Measured, with error): [NASA NSSDCA: Earth Fact Sheet](https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/earthfact.html) - Kp level at which a geomagnetic storm begins (G1) (Measured): [NOAA SWPC: NOAA Space Weather Scales](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation); [NOAA SWPC: Planetary K-index](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/planetary-k-index) - Kp level of an extreme geomagnetic storm (G5) (Measured): [NOAA SWPC: NOAA Space Weather Scales](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation) - Minor (G1) geomagnetic storms in an average solar cycle (Estimated): [NOAA SWPC: NOAA Space Weather Scales](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation) - Planetary K-index (Kp), latest 3-hour value (Measured, with error): [NOAA SWPC: Planetary K-index](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/planetary-k-index); [NOAA SWPC: NOAA Space Weather Scales](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation) - Solar wind speed measured upstream of Earth (Measured): [NOAA SWPC: Solar Wind Data and Display Changes (30 June 2026)](https://www.spaceweather.gov/news/solar-wind-data-and-display-changes); [NOAA SWPC: SWPC home-page summary bar script (shows this file as "Solar Wind Speed ... km/sec")](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/modules/custom/swpc_summary/swpc_summary.js); [The Astrophysical Journal: Extremely Slow (Vsw < 300 km/s) Solar Winds (ESSWs) at 1 au: Causes of Extreme Geomagnetic Quiet at Earth (Tsurutani & Hajra 2022, ApJ 936, 155)](https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac7444); [Journal of Geophysical Research: Extremely high speed solar wind: 29-30 October 2003 (Skoug et al. 2004, JGR 109, A09102)](https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JA010494); [Space Weather (AGU): On the Little-Known Consequences of the 4 August 1972 Ultra-Fast Coronal Mass Ejecta (Knipp et al. 2018, Space Weather 16)](https://doi.org/10.1029/2018SW002024) - Sunspot number, monthly mean (latest month) (Measured, with error): [NOAA SWPC: Observed solar cycle indices](https://services.swpc.noaa.gov/json/solar-cycle/observed-solar-cycle-indices.json); [SILSO, Royal Observatory of Belgium: SILSO data files](https://www.sidc.be/SILSO/datafiles) - The Moon's average distance from Earth (Measured): [NASA: Moon Facts](https://science.nasa.gov/moon/facts/) - Time since Earth's last geomagnetic storm (Kp 5- or higher) (Measured, with error): [GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam: Geomagnetic Kp index](https://kp.gfz.de/en/) - Time since Solar Cycle 25 began (Measured): [NASA: Solar Cycle 25 Is Here. NASA, NOAA Scientists Explain What That Means (release 20-089)](https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/solar-cycle-25-is-here-nasa-noaa-scientists-explain-what-that-means/) - Time since Solar Cycle 25 peaked (Measured, with error): [SIDC, Royal Observatory of Belgium: Solar Cycle 25 reached its maximum in October 2024](https://sidc.be/article/solar-cycle-25-reached-its-maximum-october-2024); [NASA Science: NASA, NOAA: Sun Reaches Maximum Phase in 11-Year Solar Cycle (15 October 2024)](https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/nasa-noaa-sun-reaches-maximum-phase-in-11-year-solar-cycle/) - Time since the Carrington event (Measured): [The Astrophysical Journal Letters: Magnitude Estimates for the Carrington Flare in 1859 September: As Seen from the Original Records (Hayakawa et al. 2023)](https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acd853); [NOAA: Five historically huge solar events](https://www.noaa.gov/heritage/stories/five-historically-huge-solar-events) - Time since the May 2024 storm reached G5 (Measured): [NOAA SWPC: G5 Conditions Observed!](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/g5-conditions-observed) - Time the solar wind takes from L1 to Earth (Estimated): [NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center: Solar Wind](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/solar-wind); [NOAA SWPC: Aurora Tutorial](https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/content/aurora-tutorial) - Typical cruising speed of a long-haul airliner (Estimated): [EUROCONTROL: Aircraft Performance Database: B789 (Boeing 787-9)](https://contentzone.eurocontrol.int/aircraftperformance/details.aspx?ICAO=B789); [EUROCONTROL: Aircraft Performance Database: A388 (Airbus A380-800)](https://contentzone.eurocontrol.int/aircraftperformance/details.aspx?ICAO=A388)