Space weather warning: Geomagnetic K-index of 5 expected was recorded by Global Incident Tracker on Tuesday, 8 September 2026 at 05:46 UTC. The event is classified as a space weather incident with a severity rating of Moderate, and was detected through SWPC.

Space Weather Message Code: WARK05 Serial Number: 2263 Issue Time: 2026 Sep 08 0546 UTC EXTENDED WARNING: Geomagnetic K-index of 5 expected Extension to Serial Number: 2262 Valid From: 2026 Sep 07 2000 UTC Now Valid Until: 2026 Sep 08 1800 UTC Warning Condition: Persistence NOAA Scale: G1 - Minor NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 60 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude. Induced Currents - Weak power grid fluctuations can occur. Spacecraft - Minor impact on satellite operations possible. Aurora - Aurora may be visible at high latitudes, i.e., northern tier of the U.S. such as northern Michigan and Maine. Issued by the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. Geomagnetic storms of this level can affect power grids, satellite operations, GPS accuracy and high-latitude radio and aviation.

Understanding space weather events

Geomagnetic storms and solar activity that disrupt power grids, aviation, navigation and satellites. Incidents in this category vary widely in scale and cause, which is why we record each one individually and preserve the source attribution.

How severity is rated

Global Incident Tracker rates every event on a four-step scale — Minor, Moderate, Severe and Extreme — derived from the source signal: earthquake magnitude, official GDACS alert colour, or the volume of independent media reporting for news-derived incidents. This event is currently rated Moderate. Ratings can change as more information becomes available, and a rating is a monitoring signal rather than an official government assessment.

Safety guidance for space weather situations

  • Keep a safe distance from the affected area and let emergency services work unobstructed.
  • Rely on official local channels for instructions and avoid amplifying unverified reports.
  • Prepare a basic emergency kit: water, medication, torch, power bank, documents and cash.
  • Follow only official instructions from local authorities and emergency services — this page is a monitoring record, not an emergency alert.

Data and verification

This record was generated automatically from SWPC and de-duplicated against our archive. Early reports for any incident can be revised: locations get refined, magnitudes are recalculated and impact figures change as assessments arrive. We deliberately do not publish casualty numbers unless an official source states them. The original source report is linked at the top of this page.

Keep watching the situation on our live world incident map, browse every space weather events we track on the Space Weather tracker, or see today's global picture on the incidents today page.

Timeline and sources

Official warning

Issued by NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. A warning or forecast describes a hazard; on its own it is not a report that harm occurred.

How statuses are decided · the number of reports is never treated as confirmation.

  1. · received · event time 8 Sep 2026, 05:46 UTC
    First report Official warning

    First recorded from NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.

    NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center ↗

  2. · received
    Also reported (3) Official warning

    3 more reports from NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. Reports from one feed are often copies of the same story, so they are not counted as independent confirmation. Links were not kept for reports merged before 13 September 2026.

    NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center

Times are when this site received each report, in UTC; the event time is shown where the source gave one. 4 reports are attached to this incident. Copies of one syndicated story count as one report.