Chicago, IL – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has confirmed a strong X1.2-class solar flare erupted early Monday morning (Nov. 10, 2025), marking the second major flare from Active Region 4274 in just over a day.
According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), the flare peaked around 0919 UTC (3:19 a.m. CST) and reached an R3—Strong—radio blackout level on the agency’s space weather scale. Such events can disrupt high-frequency (HF) radio communications across the sunlit side of Earth for several minutes to hours.
The agency noted that this latest eruption follows an X1.7-class flare just 26 hours earlier, suggesting the active sunspot region remains highly volatile. “Additional flares are possible within the next 24–48 hours,” NOAA officials said.
While no direct geomagnetic storm watch has yet been issued, solar particles from these flares could enhance aurora visibility across the northern U.S. and Great Lakes if associated coronal mass ejections (CMEs) reach Earth. Space weather forecasters are monitoring for any Earth-directed material that could make northern lights visible as far south as Wisconsin or northern Illinois.
