NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center

The official U.S. source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts. - Issued G4 storm warnings and coordinated response

On January 18, 2026, the Sun fired the most intense radiation storm in over 20 years directly at Earth. An X1.9-class flare launched a coronal mass ejection traveling at 1,700 kilometers per second—plasma moving fast enough to cross the Sun-Earth distance in just 25 hours. The resulting geomagnetic storm reached G4 (Severe) levels, placing it at the top of warning scales and triggering auroras visible from Texas to Italy. Three weeks later, the Sun has not quieted. On February 2, a massive sunspot region designated AR4366—nearly 10 times wider than Earth—erupted with an X8.1 flare, the strongest since the January event. Two days later, on February 4, another X4.2 flare followed, with additional M-class flares crackling almost continuously from the same region.

Updated Feb 7

The U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches, and warnings. - Actively monitoring and forecasting AR4366 outbreak; issuing daily activity summaries and CME arrival predictions

Solar Cycle 25 has entered a dramatic new phase. Just two weeks after the January 19 X1.9 flare and G4.7 geomagnetic storm, a colossal new sunspot region AR4366 rotated into view on February 1 and immediately began an unprecedented barrage of X-class flares. On February 1 at 23:44 UTC, AR4366 unleashed an X8.1 flare—the 3rd-largest flare of the entire Solar Cycle 25—triggering an R3 strong radio blackout across Earth's sunlit hemisphere. Within hours, the region fired four more X-class flares (X2.9, X2.8, X1.5, X1.7), and by February 5 had produced 10 X-class flares in just five days, along with over 100 M-class flares. The region has grown to nearly 10 times Earth's width with a magnetically unstable delta-class configuration that continues crackling with flares.

Updated Feb 5