thanks for the heads up but an M class flare is not a strong flare, it's about as alarming as a 5.0 earthquake on a fault line, plus this one wasn't earth directed, so this wouldn't affect us at all.

Might get a nice aurora depending on where it hits.

No need to worry until you see an X class with a high number that is facing us directly.

The duration of the flare wasn't real long. It might add to the northern lights but that's about all. If it was earth directed and a long duration flare, it could cause more problems even though it is only an M flare. Two or three flares in a row causes problems also if they are in the M's. Wait, we have some good size sunspots on the sun.