Nation IN BRIEF : COLORADO : Geomagnetic Storm Causes Power Surge

Another geomagnetic storm hit Earth, building in intensity and threatening to disrupt power production and radio communication, government forecasters said. The Virginia Power Co. said it caused a surge of power that tripped off five power processing banks, and its magnetic energy disrupted some radio communications in Alaska, according to forecaster Norm Cohen of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder. The storm was created by a solar flare that erupted from a sunspot earlier this week, Cohen said. Initially, forecasters said the storm was weaker than expected. Twelve hours later, the storm “went from minor storm levels to major storm levels,” solar technician Charliss Carpenter said. The solar flare was the fifth since Wednesday of last week.