Meteorologists predict that Earth could be blasted by a geomagnetic storm on Wednesday due to its timing with the autumnal equinox. A coronal mass ejection — when plasma and magnetic particles burst forth from the sun’s surface — occurred on Sunday, the same day as the official start of fall, Space.com reported.

During the solstices, when Earth's poles are pointed towards, the Sun, our planet experiences the least geomagnetic storms. In contrast, data collected between 1932 and 2014 shows geomagnetic storms are twice as likely around the times of the equinoxes, according to Space.com.

During an equinox, places around the globe experience nearly equal amounts of daytime and nighttime. The second occurrence this year happens on Sunday.

A coronal mass ejection could strike the Earth's magnetosphere this week and cause a geomagnetic storm due to conditions caused by the autumnal equinox.