Earth is hit by 'extreme' G5 solar storm that's strongest in 20 years and which could damage power lines, communications and satellites

Earth has been hit by a solar storm that's set to be the strongest in 21 years and which could disrupt power lines as well as communications.

The storm was recorded as being of G5 (geomagnetic 5) strength by satellites around 8pm Friday - the strongest level available.

It's the first G5 level storm since October 2003. 

A tweet from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center said: 'Extreme (G5) geomagnetic conditions have been observed!'

The solar storms are set to last all weekend and pose a potential threat to power grids. They could cause widespread electrical disruptions, blackouts and damage to critical infrastructure. 

The results of the solar flares are visible in the form of stunning auroras, which are currently being seen around the world. 

The storm is a result of six streams of plasma that have burst from the sun and are hurtling toward Earth. 

Now that the streams of plasma are roughly one million miles from the planet, scientist are able to gauge the severity of the storm. 

The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center released an update that said the geomagnetic storm was going to be a 6 on the K-index, which is a scale that quantifies the disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field.

A 6 is considered a moderate geomagnetic storm, which means that power systems located at high latitudes are especially vulnerable and can experience emergency situations. 

If this particular geomagnetic storm should prove long, transformers and other electrical equipment could suffer damage. 

The NOAA's current forecast is higher than their previous prediction, which was a 5.

Dr. Tamitha Skov, a space weather physicist with the NOAA, announced that the geomagnetic storm was a G5 on the Hp30 index, which is a scale like the K-index, but it measures disturbances in shorter windows (30 minutes versus three hours).

A G5 storm would represent an extreme geomagnetic storm, a possibility that would be replete with serious problems and inconveniences. 

At the farthest end of the index, a G5 would entail serious transformer damage and widespread blackouts.

High-frequency radio communications could possibly be rendered incapacitated for a few days. 

And satellite navigation services, such as GPS, could be off-line for several days.

Dr. Skov wrote that time would 'tell if this #solarstorm has the punch to cause the (K-index) to reach G5 as well.'

Scientists have also predicted that three of the six streams, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), could combine to create a powerful 'cannibal CME.'

Geomagnetic storms take place when high-energy particles released from solar flares ejected by the sun reach Earth.

The sun is continuously erupting and hurling particles into space, but given that its 93 million miles from Earth, it rarely reaches us.

'We anticipate we will get one shock after another. We are really buckling down here,' Clinton Wallace, director of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), said during the Friday media briefing.

When the sun emits a solar flare, it creates an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) similar to that of a nuclear bomb which in turn can disable or destroy all electronic equipment, including satellites.

Auroras are created when energy and particles from the sun temporarily interrupt Earth’s magnetosphere, creating a geomagnetic storm.

Some solar particles travel along our planet’s magnetic field lines into the upper atmosphere, activating nitrogen and oxygen molecules and beaming photons of light in different colors.

Friday’s anticipated geomagnetic storm is the result of several explosions on the sun, called coronal mass ejections.

These are large clouds of solar plasma and magnetic field.

Developing story, check back for updates...