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.

A significant coronal mass ejection (CME)—a massive release of solar materials and magnetic fields—is making its way toward Earth. The coronal mass ejection is triggered by a powerful M3.8 flare from sunspot region AR3835.

When most folks think of Autumn, browning leaves, crisp wind and pumpkins come to mind – for scientists, though, it’s solar storms. And one is likely to blitz the Earth today, according to meteorologists.

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.

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.