(NASA)Every so often, an explosion of radiation, solar wind, magnetic field and energy erupts from the surface of the sun. But, in fact, geomagnetic storms post the greatest threat to the electric power grid. In his 2018 budget request, President Trump proposed a cut that would eliminate the program that detects these storms. Geomagnetic storms — disturbances to the normal state of Earth’s magnetic field — result from energized solar wind. The largest storms usually are sparked by “solar wind gusts” called coronal mass ejections.

Source: Washington Post June 08, 2017 19:20 UTC