Community Corner

Weekend Weather Forecast: Sunny but Cool with Solar Storm Warning

Solar flares are wildcard for electrical devices and GPS systems Sunday, according to scientists.

A cool but sunny weekend is in store for IB with no rain in the seven-day forecast, according to the National Weather Service.

But the sun may still play tricks with Earth and its electricity users, according to a report in the Huffington Post.

Solar storms can’t hurt people but can disturb electric grids, GPS systems and satellites, said the report. They can also spread colorful Northern Lights further south than usual, as the latest storm did early Friday.

Find out what's happening in Imperial Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The report continued:

And more storms are coming. The federal government's Space Weather Prediction Center says the same area of the sun erupted again Thursday night, with a milder storm expected to reach Earth early Sunday.

Find out what's happening in Imperial Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The latest storm started with a flare on Tuesday, and had been forecast to be strong and direct, with one scientist predicting it would blast Earth directly like a punch in the nose. But it arrived Thursday morning at mild levels—at the bottom of the government's 1-5 scale of severity. It strengthened to a level 3 for several hours early Friday as the storm neared its end. Scientists say that’s because the magnetic part of the storm flipped direction.

Here’s what the NWS says about IB weather through Friday:

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65. West wind around 5 mph.

Saturday night: Patchy fog. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 50. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Sunday: Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 59. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west.

Sunday Night: Cloudy, with a low around 50. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Monday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 60. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51.

Tuesday: Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 62.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 62.

Wednesday Night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 52.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 61.

Thursday Night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 53.

Friday: Cloudy, with a high near 60.


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