#Solar #Hurricane big solar storms, with #radiation levels heightened near the poles

The U.S. is bracing for the impact of the largest solar storm in almost a decade. Eric Holthaus joins the News Hub to discuss what to expect for travel and electrical devices. Photo: AFP / Getty Images.

Delta Air Lines Inc. said Tuesday that it was rerouting some transpolar flights between Asia and the U.S. to avoid the impact of the largest solar storm in almost a decade.

The Atlanta-based carrier said some flights to Detroit from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul took a more southerly routing on overnight flights, though a spokesman said planes flew faster to keep schedules intact. Tuesday departures from the U.S. were expected to follow similar routes.

Here Comes the Sun Storm

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AFP/Getty Images

This January 19, 2012 shows the solar flare captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory.

A rare solar flare erupted late Sunday night resulting in a solar radiation storm today, according to NASA. It's the strongest such storm since September 2005, according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. (Photo/Video: NASA)

Airlines occasionally reroute transpolar flights as a precautionary measure during big solar storms, with radiation levels heightened near the poles because of the relatively thin ozone layer. The region is also more prone to the disturbance of navigation and communication systems because of the convergence of magnetic field lines at the poles.

A huge solar storm on the sun Monday spewed out a stream of charged particles that hit the Earth earlier Tuesday. The Space Weather Prediction Center of the U.S. National Weather Service said it was the largest solar storm since October 2003.

The biggest issue is radiation, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado.

The radiation is mostly a concern for satellite disruptions and astronauts in space. It can cause communication problems for polar-traveling airplanes, said space weather center physicist Doug Biesecker.

Radiation from Sunday's flare arrived at Earth an hour later and will likely continue through Wednesday. Levels are considered strong but other storms have been more severe. There are two higher levels of radiation on NOAA's storm scale — severe and extreme — Biesecker said. Still, this storm is the strongest for radiation since May 2005.

Transpolar routes provide the shortest flights between the U.S. and some parts of north-east Asia.

United Continental Holdings Inc., which operates a number of transpolar flights from Chicago and Newark airports, said there had been no operational impact from the storm on Asian flights. However, a flight from Washington, D.C., to Dubai was rerouted to a more southerly course.

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., another regular on the routes, was not immediately available for comment.