Not only did we witness some big storms on Earth in 2025, but the sun also put on a show for the country, fuelling a number of solar storms throughout the year.

"It was another quite active year, and us being in solar maximum, that makes complete sense," said Shawn Dahl, with NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. 

The biggest solar storm of the year brought the northern lights right into the heart of some cities, including New York, Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul, a sight rarely seen in the midst of urban lights.

"The Veterans Day, mid-November, storm that we just had was certainly the most prolific of this year that we've seen," Dahl said. "But beyond that, beyond the Aurora producing geomagnetic storm, that also happened to be tied in with the largest solar radiation storm we've seen in a few decades. And that gave quite an impact to the aviation industry."

Dahl said that particular storm forced airlines to cancel more than 30 flights. All of this activity is because we're around the maximum point of the sun's cycle.

"The sun's magnetic fields flip roughly every 11 years. And as part of that process, all sorts of things happen in the dynamics of the sun. And eventually we get this burst of activity in the form of sun spots and increased solar storms," Dahl explained.

Dahl said we may see fewer storms in 2026, but history shows they can still be strong. Regardless, he said forecasters are ready. Their newest satellite, SWFO-L1, launched in September, is on schedule with some tests already underway as it nears its new home 1 million miles away.

"We expect that will happen towards the end of January. We are really excited as forecasters to have that operational, because it's really going to help our job and make us do even better work," said Dahl.