Sorry folks, false alarm. The only date on the article was current but it appears this article is old...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-200952/power-cuts-threat-sun-storm-hits-earth.html
"A huge mass of electrically-charged particles thrown out by a gigantic eruption on the Sun is due to strike the Earth tonight.
"Scientists expect it to trigger one of the most violent geomagnetic storms ever recorded.
"The result could be widespread power surges and even blackouts, disrupted TV and mobile phone signals, and broken down communication satellites.
"At the same time the Northern Lights, normally confined to polar latitudes, may produce dazzling displays in the skies above southern Britain.
"At least one satellite has already been knocked out of action by the storm. Japan's space agency said its Kodama communications satellite had been temporarily shut down after malfunctioning.
"The solar flare that caused the eruption burst out of a sunspot at 10.54am yesterday.
"Experts said it was the strongest flare seen in the past 30 years. The explosion caused a coronal mass ejection (CME) which is now speeding towards Earth.
...
"Geomagnetic storms are classified on a scale of one to five. Initial indications are that the looming storm could reach the highest G5 level and last for 24 hours."
Comments
Yes we also had a pretty active lightning storm last night around 10:30pm last night. Most of the lightning was 5 to 10 miles away, it sure was some light show.
That's interesting where the heaviest concentrations are on the map, around DC -Baltimore-delaware and smack in the center of the country.
http://www.strikestarus.com/
This site shows lighting strikes for the US.
I like the idea of a drill.
This guy is showing charts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF-51HOyvC4
Charts here: http://iswa.gsfc.nasa.gov:8080/IswaSystemWebApp/iSWACygnetStreamer?...
ATS is reporting it's old news: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread741969/pg3
So is GLP: http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1600218/pg1