13 March, 1989 Geomagnetic Storm

Thirty-five years ago, on March 13, 1989, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation National News reported “Early this morning six million people across Quebec woke up to darkness and disbelief…the entire province had been hit by a power failure." The people of Quebec were victims of what Dr David Boeteler, head of the Space Weather Group at Natural Resources Canada, called "the biggest geomagnetic storm of the Space Age."
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This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
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Script by THG
#history #thehistoryguy #spaceweather

[@winstonsmith478]

On that date I was running a USAF microwave installation using highly directional parabolic dish antennas with magnetic azimuth sensors to detect dish movement due to high winds and sound an alarm if the dishes moved enough due to that or tampering to be concerned about. The alarm went off, but there was no wind. We checked a mechanical gauge and saw that the dishes weren't off-azimuth. We reset the alarm. Shortly later it went off again. We disabled it. The next day with the news of the magnetic storm I realized that the magnetic storm was the culprit, apparently moving the local magnetic field enough to sound the azimuth alarm. The antennas hadn't moved, the Earth's magnetic field did.

[@petercozzaglio6070]

Now that is cool. 😮

[@orbitingeyes2540]

White Alice tropo?

[@Leleanor8]

Whoah!! Cool, thanks for sharing!

[@adamantman3200]

Big Brother is watching you, Winston Smith!

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

I’d like to thank our sun for being so stable. Even these flares are relatively benign, compared to many other stars. So, thanks, buddy. I really dig that warmth & light👍

[@onliwankannoli]

I remember it like it was yesterday. I just shrugged it off, pushed up my sleeves on my white sports jacket and played Funky Cold Medina on my Walkman. 😂

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Lol

[@onliwankannoli]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel A LOL from you, sir, has made my day.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

I was thinking, “Why the hell don’t I remember this?” Then I recalled the date & realized I was in my 2nd week of Basic Training at Ft Knox, KY. I wasn’t getting much in the way of news & was kinda busy even if I had🤣

[@LBGirl1988]

Love this!

[@johnseawind9558]

​@@goldenageofdinosaurs7192same for me, but Ft Benning. GA.

[@seatedliberty]

A fascinating science based episode- I'll be keeping my ion you.

[@onliwankannoli]

I positively got a charge from your comment, thanks! 👍

[@seatedliberty]

@@onliwankannoli You might say that I have a flare for this sort of thing.

[@mikem3695]

I raise my Corona to you.

[@onliwankannoli]

@@seatedliberty Indeed you do. There is nothing I can say to eclipse that.

[@seatedliberty]

@@onliwankannoli Thanks- if I had a sun, I'd want him to be like you

[@user-oh2hs6jh5x]

A few years ago we went to Kitt Peak observatory outside Tucson, AZ and toured what was open to the public. That particular day they had a telescope, fitted with a filter, set up for the public to view the sun. You could see the solar prominences (solar flares) extending out from the sun. As I remember it, I think they said that the height of those solar prominences extended outwards for a distance equal to 50 times the diameter of the Earth.

[@roymcneil6026]

What if an ultra powerful flare managed to reach 100 times further out? It would be around 40 million miles from the Sun but less than half the distance between Earth's orbit and the solar surface thank goodness.

[@katieandkevinsears7724]

A few days ago, during the eclipse, I got to see those without a telescope. It really puts our size onto perspective.

[@beerdrinker6452]

The History Guy is the best use of the Internet/KZbin. However you choose to look at things.

[@PBVader]

This is a mere glossing of the big picture. Might I suggest Suspicious Observers?

[@reverseuniverse2559]

@@PBVaderYes highly recommended 👍😎

[@roberthobson5005]

The History Guy is the best history teacher there is.

[@robloggia]

I like the concept of people seeing what they interpret as a nuclear exchange and call the police for help.

[@walkercustoms]

We had some amazing aurora lights like 15 years ago. It was the most impressive I've ever seen, the entire sky was red at 2am. Northern Wisconsin is where we are. And we see them every year but that one night was very memorable. My friend and I had gotten done playing guitar and were going to go home. We stayed around quite a while calling family telling the to go outside. He went home and took video. I was 10 years old on 89 and don't recall ever hearing of this event. I can't imagine anything better than what my friend and I seen that night so 89 must have been spectacular.

[@lisahinton9682]

@walkercustoms SAW. ...than what you and your friend SAW. My gawd!!! That is PAINFUL to read. How can you SAY it, much less WRITE it? Sorry, not sorry.

[@orbitingeyes2540]

Yep. We saw the high altitude oxygen (red) Aurora way down in Northern Virginia in 2002.

[@allareasindex7984]

@@lisahinton9682if you understood it enough to correct his grammar then you understood it. The modern purpose of language is to communicate. In times when social class determined the way people spoke the language was used as a way of claiming superiority. Let it go. You’ll feel better.

[@zodszoo]

Looked this up to read about it in my local newspaper, and nothing was reported. Interesting what made the news then, annnnd today. Very cool to learn about this!

[@karentrimmer]

We had a spectacular view from Perry, MI. No photograph or video can capture the awesome breathtaking beauty of seeing it for yourself.

[@rhondahuggins9542]

On Spring Break at home in The Ozarks in 89...The Northern Lights here did indeed look like the result of a fire. Once in a lifetime event for us.❤

[@tugginalong]

As usual, the best channel on KZbin.

[@j.pershing2197]

Big ole ball of plasma. Fed by galactic birkland currents. 5:37 Magnetic looping

[@lidar37]

Unfortunately, physical damage occurred to more than capacitors and relays. Some large power transformers were also affected, melting transformer windings, resulting in some power failures which occurred in Quebec and in Salem, NJ as well as other locations. This type of damage can take longer to repair if multiple locations are affected as transformers can take longer to build, so getting them to multiple locations in the future could leave places without power for extended periods of time.

[@FuncleChuck]

Correct. we do not have sufficient transformers to fix the grid in a major storm, not for YEARS, and a large enough event could be permanently devastating to a modern grid.

[@allangibson8494]

Which is why surge arrestors are being fitted to a lot of new electrical installations.

[@lidar37]

@@allangibson8494 Surge arrestors are great for protection against rapid electrical surges caused by lightning ⚡, but are ineffective against ground induced currents caused by geomagnetic storm induced currents. Other protection methods are used to protect transformers and generators in these situations.

[@goodun2974]

The first season of the British political drama Cobra is about such an event, and the social unrest and panic that occurs while replacement transformers are being sourced and transported.

[@lidar37]

Surge arrestors are great for protection from rapid electrical transients such as lightning strikes but are ineffective against geomagnetic storm induced ground currents which can effect some generators and transformers. Other protection measures and devices are required to prevent elevated ground currents from causing transformer damage. ​@@allangibson8494

[@contrafax]

Good time of day, everyone!

[@donalddodson7365]

Thanks!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Thank you!

[@thejackal0313]

Seeing this first thing in the morning really made my day. I love hearing about events that happened on March 13th which is the day I was born. Also, I'm obsessed with space weather and study it all the time ever since I used to work at a phone store and we experienced a solar flare that sent the Auroras far South as Oklahoma. Although it was a pain having to reprogram so many phones but it created a fascination and I've been obsessed with it ever since. ☀️

[@sweetsuccesstrading5097]

SuspiciousObsevers has a video every day watching and explaining Solar Flares, etc. great Information

[@Gizathecat2]

Be careful, he’s a click baiter. Oppenheimer Ranch is similar, but not as suspect.

[@FuncleChuck]

11:11 it’s comforting somehow to know that so many people react to things they don’t understand with primal fear and absolute panic. May cooler heads prevail.

[@Adallace]

Old accounts of when Halley's comet was approaching the Earth showcase some of that 😁 there were a lot of rational people but there were also some crazies who thought that the comet's tail contained enough cyanide to kill everyone on the Earth and it was the end times etc. I think The Dollop podcast has an episode about it.

[@PatrickCraig-lh5is]

Episodes like this one are your very best. Thank you!

[@madmoe1]

Fascinating. Thanks for putting this together.

[@user-oh2hs6jh5x]

Good morning history nerds. Welcome to class.

[@shawnr771]

Thank you for the lesson.

[@RetiredSailor60]

Good Wednesday (Hump Day) History Guy and everyone watching. Class is back in session... March 1989, 🤔, my wife and I had just driven across country from San Diego to Virginia Beach due to my transfer while in the Navy.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

Haha, I was in my 2nd week of basic training at Ft Knox, KY🫡

[@BasicDrumming]

I appreciate you and thank you for making content.

[@euthanised]

I saw this from Invercargill, New Zealand. Was lying on my parents lawn looking up in awe. Have only recently become an aurora chaser and hope to capture something similar in the future.

[@eugeneblue299]

Thank you.

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

I remember seeing the Northern Lights from here in Las Vegas during that time!

[@davidgarner7948]

I remember seeing them here in NE Texas.

[@dcmoore8937]

I was in the Panhandle of Florida and sat on a beach watching the Northern Lights!

[@leonardhirtle3645]

Another wonderful and informative video. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us.

[@BenjySparky]

THG, you rock! Love the channel and content. Peace

[@Gizathecat2]

I remember hearing about the Quebec power outage. I was living in California at the time.

[@elcastorgrande]

You add real value to youtube.

[@skyedog24]

I remember this day very well my brother owned a stereo shop and I was pretty much stuck there for a few hours because you could not get gas the gas pumps were off and this was at a time when most people did not have cellphones. So I just hung out at his stereo shop and shot the breeze for a few hours.

[@reverseuniverse2559]

This was covered brilliantly 😎 thank you 👍

[@MrJest2]

It's interesting; I was a living adult at this time... but I have no memory of this. I'm guessing because I was on the West coast, so the time frame of this event was before anyone here would have noticed; either in the middle of the day time or too early in the evening to be observed. I do seem to recall reading about it in the news the next day, but it meant nothing to me at the time - Quebec was a very, very long way away from us - and the night before four time-zones away was equally distant, since I didn't even roll into work before 10:00AM PST. At that, I was one of the earliest ones in to work - if it didn't happen after 8:00PM that day, I didn't know about it except after the fact.

[@philgiglio7922]

Do a segment on the Carrington event of 1859 A geomagnetic storm that shut the Victorian internet down International telegraph service was disrupted and fires broke out in some of the telegraph 'hubs' on both sides of the Atlantic

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

The 1859 Carrington Event kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoq1Z3iGobV3hrc

[@northmaineguy5896]

I was an air traffic controller when this hit and I can remember the radios not being at their best.

[@DigitalDiabloUK]

You don't want a grid to go offline. Restarting a 'national' grid is an absolute mare as you have to bring each station online, make sure its not overloaded or underloaded for an area, then bring the next station online and repeat. Not easy to manage that demand.

[@susanadams-wauro6716]

I remember watching the Northern Lights in Toronto, Ontario Canada 🇨🇦 I was used to seeing them up North in Temiskaming Shores, not in T.O. Another great topic by THG...cheers from Canada 🇨🇦

[@garywagner2466]

Was living in Inuvik in March 1989, and remember the aurora was quite vivid that winter when my oldest daughter was born. Now I know why.

[@sjfehr]

Nice coincidental timing on this video. :) Especially poignant given the recent eclipse and solar storm this weekend. I think we can all relate just a little bit better to 1989 now!

[@marsspacex6065]

You know exploding a nuclear bomb in space (400km and above) has similar effects as the radiation release travels along the magnetic fields and makes the van Allen belts more intense taking out satellites in low earth orbit. Finally it also creates a emp (electromagnetic pulse) which damages electric circuits that are close enough. This was seen with the starfish prime nuclear test in 1962.

[@VE4GAG]

I was driving from Kamloops to Cache Creek in central British Columbia when, suddenly, bright blue/green flashes were on the horizon. There was a major power failure, and it was an eerie feeling driving through the darkened countryside.

[@cafiend]

Where I live in New Hampshire, I observed two nights of increasingly intense auroral displays. I missed the first night, apparently. On the second night I went to let the dog out around 10 p.m. on Sunday night and thought for a moment that the forest was on fire because of the pulsating red light shining through the trees. I spent hours lying out in the hayfield next to my house, staring up at the show. The next night, I saw the display cranking up in the early evening. When I got out of work after 11 p.m., I stood out in that field again, staring up at curtains of light that extended fully overhead and down to the south.

[@tmutant]

I was working overnight Campus Security while I was going to college. In south-central North Carolina, near Gastonia. We don't see Aurora much. The red glow in the northern sky was a bit disturbing, as that was the same direction as the McGuire Nuclear Station. Had to stop my rounds and check a news radio station to find out what was going on.

[@donaldbotsai5799]

How did it compare to the Carrington event?

[@JohnShalamskas]

The Carrington event was much more powerful.

[@user-rz9ck8mu1f]

My son was only 4 yrs old, and I remember that was the very first time I had ever seen the Northern Lights here in southern Michigan.

[@elfpimp1]

I turned 23 that day in '89. I was fi e months from my first Naval enlistment expiring. I remember all the chatter about it in Dan Diego Naval base and Coronado.

[@ChrisStCyr-gnt7]

That whole spring was a phenomenal display of night lights.

[@demizer1968]

I was on active duty during this time and worked in Navy Comms. It was an interesting few years.

[@charliesschroedinger]

Dr Ben Davidson has a lot of info on this topic

[@dondecaire6534]

I remember it well, it was the most amazing night sky I have ever seen and yes I heard all about the Quebec blackout but it was through my own efforts, it was largely ignored in the press.

[@dsc4178]

I recall that one company saying they wouldn't shut off their satellites since it was 50/50 at worst that their satellites would be affected. They were correct. I saw auroras farther south than I had before, spectacular.

[@theplatypen1959]

Any other fisherman notice that when there are strong solor flairs the fishing is harder?

[@jimirvine763]

I lived in Quebec when this happened. It was an interesting few days. We're entering another cycle now. Could it happen again? Yup!

[@jemkey6930]

My dad got so excited seeing your Storm Trooper addition to your "Shelf of History" in your office. Dad doesn't remember this incident having any significance here in our little town. Being in March he would be counting the days till summer vacation. Not dependent on phones, internet, or electronics in general dad and kids his age, would have never noticed. Today I think kids my age would believe the world was ending 😂, awesome video Mr History Guy.

[@Jezeppi1]

Very cool Thank you HG. 😮😮

[@asdisskagen6487]

Thank you so much for this! As a layperson, it's nice to see factual reporting of subjects like this instead of having to wade through fear-mongering articles or dry scientific papers.

[@rickm9244]

The Sun does whatever it wants and could end the modern age in a few seconds.

[@PBVader]

That's the plan. The Sun of Man will return and only those that understand revelation et al will survive to see his victory.

[@lancestrahm2362]

Takes like 7-9 minutes to reach us so technically a little bit more than a few seconds.

[@mellissadalby1402]

Geez, it's been 35 years already?

[@davidgarner7948]

I remember seeing this in NE Texas. I was 10 yrs old.

[@sevenstars004]

Thank you again for yet another interesting, suberbly narrated episode! I remember this. I was 17 then and explained what happened to some of my friends (I was always interested in how everything worked, especially space, the stars, sun and planets. Went on become a physicist.) As The History Guy, I'm sure you know about the Carrington event, if you haven't already done a video on it. It's not a matter of if a CME of that magnitude occurs again, it's a matter of when. When it does, it will be extraordinary catastrophic and so many crucial things can be made to be magnetically shielded but aren't due to cost. The cost for not shielding as much as can be will be immeasurable.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoq1Z3iGobV3hrcsi=OpGColmpOpCECXjR

[@sevenstars004]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Thank you! I already know about it but I'm sure there are a lot of details and insights you have that I've not heard before. Going to watch it now 😊👍

[@gregreilly7328]

This video gives me excitement as to what you will post around the oncoming total eclipse. As well as the pre-emptive lunar eclipse.

[@MmntechCa]

I was 3 when this happened, so I don't remember any of it. I do remember the 2003 Northeast blackout, and how long it took to recover from that. A Carrington level storm would be a bit of a problem, to put it mildly. Especially with how much more reliant we're becoming on the electrical grid.

[@fabiandieziger2714]

Immigrated to Quebec in the cold january 89 to then learn that it can be even worse in march. Then the ice storm of 98 teached me the last essential things to survive here.

[@scotsmith2391]

I was on a submarine in the north Atlantic under the water...we didn't notice a thing, lol

[@iambiggus]

Starship is cool and all, but there was something seriously BA about the look of the Shuttle. /salute

[@TrickiVicBB71]

It's so cool reading everyone's personal experience in the comments

[@jessicaarmentrout1893]

I don’t remember that one. I was in my senior year of high school. I worked a lot that spring.

[@ronaldschoolcraft8654]

Interesting. It was really hot in the summers of 1988-1989. 🤔

[@thomasrengel5577]

OK. I heard about it at the time; my co-worker who lived up in rural NH west of Nashua saw vivid auroras---I missed them! But barely six months later when in New Brunswick in late August I had a tremendous aurora display that lasted for hours; I finally gave up watching about 1am. Over half the sky was covered with a a lot of red-orange hues--not much of any greens or blues. White "standing wave" patterns reminiscent of the underside of horseshoe crab shells occurred. I have seen five auroral; displays in my life (1961,1968,1979 (brief occurrence of :curtains"), 1989, & 2002) but this New Brunswick display was even better than the 1961 one in Pittsburgh. Now the OTHER BIG QUEBEC [Power] Story you should do is on the 1997 Ice Storm that knocked out the transmission lines for Quebec for THREE WEEKS! I was living with my girlfriend whose son-in-law was from Montreal. His parents lived in Montreal and with the power out the ATM's weren't working nor could anyone really do electronic transactions. Fortunately his parents had enough gas in their car they could drive to Rouses Point NY where their summer place was winterized so they opened it up and stayed there until normality returned---lots of Montreal people who could afford it went across the border to the US. Do a story on it--even though it's in Canada and not here! Ever since I have realized that could happen here and our power grids could go down. So hoard some "Ice Money" I call it---Cold Cash---in case our power gets knocked out for awhile. But take the money out of the ATM in "bits & pieces" so the Feds don't "raid" you!

[@paulm749]

About that idea to always keep some cash on hand for emergencies like this... Our governmental elites, in their infinite wisdom, are trying very hard to eliminate physical, cash currency entirely and force us all to depend on digital currency. They apparently have total faith in the reliability of their technology along with the infallibility of their planning. I, for one, sleep SO MUCH better knowing that people with such extraordinary intellects are in charge of the most important aspects of our lives. Ahem.

[@TheCosmicGuy0111]

Nice

[@dedogster]

I remember it well! You could easly see the Aurora over the street lights in the suburbs of Ottawa! It freaked out a few of my friends

[@scottthomas3792]

I think some northeastern states were affected as well as Canada. I remember a coworker talking about it affecting his family in New York or New Jersey...

[@steveshoemaker6347]

l remember it well because i have been a HAM Radio Operator for 50 some years now AND I LOVE SUN SPOTS....Thank THG🎀 👍

[@jaimepowell5033]

I was working for Southwestern Bell Telephone in Austin Texas at the time. We had many what we called "pair gain" systems go #own, mostly intermittent. The cure was to cut power to them, count 10 & then let them "reboot." Not a huge problem. But, landlines were king back then & customers were annoyed. Now? What would it do to cell service?

[@drlong08]

Watching this I recall being in FL in early spring 1989, going to college at some school called ERAU and living in Ormond Beach, taking time lapse photos with my Canon A-1 of a shuttle launch...wondering now if that was the shuttle mission you mention in your video...was an evening launch so I could hold the camera on Bulb to get the shots.

[@navret1707]

I wonder what an event like this would do to all those BEVs?

[@kimgadoury4245]

Sorry, I'm not sure how to just send random requests, so I'm putting it here. It's not related to the video and I apologize, and it IS as usual, a GREAT video. Could you do a History of the Fax Machine? I've just been informed that there are STILL organizations and entities relying on this hardware & hard WIRED technology that most kids today wouldn't even know if they saw it!

[@Pygar2]

Boy, are YOU in luck! kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6a4qqdvh6xqps0 !

[@johnmolefe6765]

Please update us on today's solar flares compared to previous years

[@svenskanorsk]

Alternate name: Fun with the Ionosphere Day!

[@greggweber9967]

11:40 This is like when they said that one side is Ground, the other is Positive, and they decided that electric current flow to the Positive side in a circuit outside the Battery. IMHO, it depends on the point of view.

[@chucks4328]

I can't be the only one that heard planet Vulcan can I?

[@Wil_Liam1]

The Carrington Event 1859,go check it out if you wonder what a cme or an emp is capable of..

[@Kw1161]

Thanks for the reminder about the good old Sun capricious moods. Since we are near the solar maximum now, maybe people watching this video will see their streaming devices shutdown while looking at Auroras where they are normally not seen and exclaiming “Thanks History Guy, now I know why the power just went down !” Unfortunately, they won’t be able to comment back to you…😂! Have a great day!

[@mariekatherine5238]

I was living with the Amish in northeastern New York, therefore, did not know that anything had happened. No electric, no problem, although parts of New York and Vermont were affected.

[@Gizathecat2]

I wonder if the massive sun spots, solar flares set in motion what would be the October 17, 1989 San Francisco quake?

[@bryanshoemaker6120]

89.. I probably was electrocuting myself somehow as I often did as a kid. Our house was built in the 1820s. Most of our electricity came from a old steam engine that we scalped from a abandoned gold mine. If there was a power outage we would have never noticed.

[@Aramis419]

I asked my parents about this. My dad goes, "You were 3 years old. You were busy digging a hole in the mud with a stick! We figured we'd join you, since there was sh*t else to do!"

[@v.e.7236]

I missed out seeing those Northern Lights, because California has so much marine layer along its coast. I rarely get to see meteor showers as well due to this marine layer occluding the night sky from view. I'll probably get a blanket of cloud cover for this upcoming solar eclipse. Just may have to do some travelling for this one and go to Texas.

[@dsc4178]

Also, cosmic radiation, when it increases a lot for months/years, causes the Earth to get colder.

[@bernadettepayette5263]

Like the Carrington for our protective shield of this planet is getting weaker and weaker

[@fieryvale]

The video game "The Long Dark" is based on this event.

[@DarcyS369]

This 1 predates me by a lil bit

[@debbieellett9093]

What is the difference between a geomagnetic storm and an EMP? I'm sure I knew at some point. They both mess with electronics, right?

[@stormrunner0029]

I have been interested in the solar cycles for years. I once read a paper, put out by NASA about the socioeconomic effects of the cycles, and the laid out examples of how wars and other major events in human history could have been attributed to the cycles. That paper disappeared. On a more modern note, it is interesting to see how economic collapses coincide with the cycle changes. Mainly it is due the radiation and lack of it during the change of the cycle, that challenges Earth beings. I wonder if Heinrich and Klaus Swab, from the WEF, are related. Aligning your investments for planned collapses is almost like insider trading.

[@HM2SGT]

🤔 *Solar Cycles sound like shaking and Etch A Sketch to start over, or turning an hourglass*

[@MissGimpsAlot]

"A geomagnetic storm is building up. We shouldn't stay long. Lucky guess. - Malikai?!?" (A blessed few will understand 😊)

[@Guangrui]

and less than 3 months later came Tiananmen Square