The biggest solar flare in four years exploded on the surface of the sun on Valentine's Day, probably coinciding with the exact moment when you saw the bill for dinner. A particle cloud has been barreling out from the giant star, and there have been concerns that the radiation could disrupt communication and navigation satellite. In China radio communication has already been affected, and AFP reports that this could "trigger blackouts around the world." But don't worry about the particle storm; NASA's Dean Pesnell insists, "It won't hit us dead-on." Which is exactly what the NASA scientist in the movies would tell the media before fleeing to his well-stocked bunker.
There are more details and some pretty videos on NASA's website, which now says the particle cloud produced by "the Valentines Day event appears to be rather weak and is not expected to produce any strong effects at Earth other than perhaps some beautiful aurora in the high northern and southern latitudes." For the curious, the LA Times explains that solar flares occur "when magnetic field lines on the sun's surface in effect get short-circuited, releasing large amounts of energy into space. Three such events occurred Monday, the largest of them a so-called class X event — the most powerful form of solar flare."
Geomagnetic storming should persist 24-48 hours, and there would probably be some spectacular light shows visible in NYC, if not for all the light pollution and the damn full moon. Oh well, let the rubes in the sticks gawk at their Northern Lights; we've got that that awesome Walgreen's sign in Times Square... and that cool Madison Square Park light installation.
