GPS Glitched Across The US by as Much as 33 Feet. Scientists Have Never Seen This Before.
This shouldn't have happened.
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A powerful solar storm that struck Earth in November 2025 triggered an unprecedented disruption to GPS systems across the continental United States, according to new research from space physicist Endawoke Yizengaw and colleagues at The Aerospace Corporation. The analysis revealed widespread atmospheric disturbances spanning from coast to coast, causing positioning errors exceeding 33 feet in some locations—a phenomenon scientists had never documented at such a large scale.
When energetic particles from the geomagnetic storm penetrated Earth’s ionosphere, they created density fluctuations in the upper atmosphere through which GPS signals must travel. These irregularities distorted radio signals in a process called amplitude scintillation, similar to how uneven glass in an old window pane can distort light passing through it. While ionospheric scintillation typically occurs near the poles and equator, the November storm’s expansion brought this hazard to mid-latitudes previously considered stable and secure.
The consequences for modern technology were significant. Precision agriculture and autonomous vehicles rely on accurate GPS positioning, and errors of even one to two meters can cause operational failures. The 2024 solar storm cost the U.S. agricultural sector an estimated $500 million in disrupted navigation services. Researchers used data from aurora cameras and ground-based satellite receivers across North America to track the disturbance, which extended roughly 40 degrees of longitude across the continent as the auroral oval expanded toward the equator.
The findings emphasize the need for improved space weather prediction capabilities and physics-based modeling to better protect critical infrastructure from future solar events, the researchers stated in their publication in Geophysical Research Letters.
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Originally reported by Sciencealert →
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