[8][9][10] Upton and Hathaway predicted that the weakness of cycle 25 would make it part of the Modern Gleissberg Minimum.

[12] As of April 2018, the Sun showed signs of a reverse magnetic polarity sunspot appearing and beginning this solar cycle.

[21] It is typical during the transition from one cycle to the next to experience a period where sunspots of both polarities exist (during the solar minimum).

[25][26] Nandy et al., analyzed the polarity orientation of bipolar magnetic regions observed in December 2019 and concluded that magnetic regions with the underlying orientation of solar cycle 25 toroidal field component were brewing in the solar convection zone, representing early signs of the new cycle.

Solar activity continued to increase in the following months, especially abruptly in October, with flares taking place on a near-daily basis by November.

[40] Reports initially predicted that the CME could graze Earth,[40] however geomagnetic storms on 30–31 October only reached a moderate Kp index of 4.

[49] On 24 March, an intense geomagnetic storm hit Earth unexpectedly, reaching a level of G4 and producing auroras as far south as New Mexico.

A minor CME from an M1 flare was predicted to hit the day earlier, but the timing and intensity were unexpected.

[55] On 9 February, region 3575 produced an X3.4 flare, the second strongest of the cycle up to that point, causing radiation levels to briefly exceed S2 over the following days.

As it was invisible from Earth, it was impossible to assess the flare's strength, but it nonetheless caused proton storm levels to briefly reach S2 again on February 12–13.