STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM PREDICTED: A coronal mass ejection (CME) is heading straight for Earth. NOAA forecasters say that strong G3-class geomagnetic storms are possible when it arrives on Dec. 9th. The full halo CME was launched on Dec. 6th by an M8-class solar flare from sunspot 4299. If it is as potent as NOAA thinks, it could spark auroras from the Arctic Circle to mid-latitude US states.