Thank you for the links. I would not have guessed an aurora would be observed that far south, without some major consequences. That would have been interesting to see, as well as making one anxious.
"The aurora was suddenly seen in Havana, Los Angeles, Washington, New York, and even from the S.S. President Taylor, off the coast of Mexico only eighteen degrees above the equator".
"Not just a pleasant red glow indicated the silent magnetic disturbance, however. The storm also interrupted communications all over. Radio waves, normally bounced off a quiet ionosphere to their targets, were being absorbed in a disturbed one."
"Western Union telegraph cables across the North Atlantic suffered serious interruptions from 9:01 until about 10:00. At 9:02, the North Atlantic became a 2650-volt battery, as a surge along the Bell System telephone cable from Newfoundland to Scotland turned eastbound voices into whispers. In Boston that night, two television stations swapped signals, flipping channels for viewers. Air-to-ground communication was disrupted for airplanes, forcing pilots to use each other as relay stations...". "Power difficulties, however, were minor: only Toronto fell briefly into darkness as Ontario's circuit breakers tripped."
