Space Weather Woman Forecasts and News: Recent Episodes
Dr. Tamitha Skov
Our Sun has gotten busy! We have three solar storms on their way to Earth and along with a fast wind chaser, this should keep aurora possibilities high through week's end. Aurora photographers will likely get a treat at high latitudes throughout the week, and those at mid-latitudes could catch the peak of the
This week our Sun kicks things into high gear starting with a surprisingly strong period of storming from some fast solar wind. The magic ingredient was a magnetic island growing inside the coronal hole generating the wind, which led to huge aurora shows deep into mid-latitudes at Earth. Although the fast wind is still
We have two Earth-directed solar storms hitting Earth now! The first, is a stealth-like CME, which is wispy and short, but the second and much larger storm has a hidden surprise. Its signature during the eruption and later in coronagraph imagery signals that there may be quite a bit of coronal material on its
Despite our Sun quieting down for a spell, but don't be fooled, more activity is just around the corner. A big coronal hole will be rotating through the Earth-strike zone in just a couple of days, so aurora photographers, expect the chance for aurora possible through Wednesday of next week. That being said, the
Description update August 5: This week a fast-growing sunspot cluster on the Sun's farside takes center stage. The cluster named Region 4165 emerged quickly and soon split into two regions as it entered Earth's view. The newest part, Region 4168, has now not only fired multiple large flares, but just today has launched an
This week our Sun is giving us a puzzle to solve. A complex solar storm has hit Earth, but thus far it has been all northward field. This means amateur radio operators may have noticed some improvement on the nightside radio bands, but aurora photographers have been underwhelmed. Expect these conditions to continue through
Our Sun is finally showing signs of waking up! Along with the extended fast solar wind that has been hitting Earth over the past few days, we have several recent filament eruptions, one of which looks like it might give us a little disturbance as it passes nearby Earth, plus some active regions clusters
Our Sun continues creating some gorgeous art this week, launching simultaneous filament eruptions off the Sun's west limb. Although those are not Earth-directed, we are being hit by a mini solar storm now with minor effects thus far. We also will get some fast wind as a chaser over the next few days, but
This week our Sun gets busy, especially with big flares, including an X1.27-flare from Region 4114. But despite the active cluster of regions crossing through the Earth strike zone now, there have not been any big Earth-directed solar storms launched. For the most part, the Sun is only firing wispy, narrow structures towards Earth,
Our Sun settles down finally after the big G3+ storm series that passed over Earth at the beginning of the month. Although we are getting hit by a final storm in that series, this one is so wispy that Earth has hardy noticed. Things might intensify once we get an enhancement from some fast
This Space Weather News forecast sponsored in part by Millersville University: https://www.millersville.edu/swen Our Sun remains a bit choosy this week, only allowing activity to pick up at a "hot longitude" just west of center disk. Region 4098 is the first to take the bait, grow rapidly over the past 48 hours and firing off
Although we are calming down from several solar storms that hit back to back over the past week and gave us some decent aurora, our Sun isn't calming down. We have four active regions that are about to rotate into Earth view that have been firing big flares and launching solar storms on the
This week our Sun stays active but has terrible aim. Earth has dodged at least four solar storms launched off the Earth-facing Sun. The only expected impact will be from some fast solar wind over the next couple of days, but that shouldn't cause too much trouble for radio amateurs participating in "Field Day"
This week our Sun sends the bulk of activity to the farside. Region 3697 continues to launch strong events, but they are hammering Mars instead of Earth this week. At our planet, we are dealing with low-level radio blackouts from Region 3712 and a few mini solar storms, but we have one mystery. There
Our Sun decides to play a prank on us by launching a far sided solar storm at the same time Region 3697 on the front sided Sun fired off an X-class flare. The combination of events caused many would-be forecasters to assume we had a strong solar storm headed towards us again, just like
This week all eyes are on the Sun as old Region 3664 (now renumbered Region 3697) returns to Earth-view. This region has already launched an X-class flare (possibly higher than an X4!) before it fully has rotated into view on the East limb. Although, I doubt it will repeat the same intensity of solar
The first solar storm in this train has hit! The storm is quite fast so the initial impact caused a momentary G4-level response. Radiation Storm and Polar Aviation 5-Day Outlook 00:18:29 | Summary Right now we are sitting at G3+ levels due to a strong, but wildly fluctuating magnetic field. This is expected while
This week our Sun decides to show us how busy things can get during solar maximum. We have 18 sunspot clusters in Earth-view, including multiple big-flare players that are making a lot of noise on the dayside radio bands. Luckily, the numerous radio blackouts are mostly short-lived and only at the R1-level so they
This week our Sun kicks activity into high gear with multiple solar storm launches, including one that is Earth-directed. Although not a direct hit, it could bring aurora to mid-latitudes for a short while starting March 20. In addition, we have a whole cluster of active regions rotating into Earth-view. Several of these are
We have a lot of filaments and new active regions in Earth-view this week and although we havent had much in the way of flare activity, things are picking up. In fact, a partly Earth-directed solar storm is on its way to earth and could give us some aurora by March 9th. Aurora photographers
Our Sun has gotten busy this week firing multiple X-class flares including the largest of this cycle thus far. All the noise is due to Region 3590, which has been actively firing flares even before it rotated into Earth view. Amateur radio operators, aviators, and GPS users are dealing with R2 and R3-level radio
Our Sun has gotten so busy over the past week that I have had to update this forecast three times before releasing it to the public! This week our Sun has fired no less than seven mid-to-high M-class flares along with an X-class flare and has launched at least three Earth-directed solar storms. This
We have four, back-to-back solar storms on their way to Earth. The first is expected to hit Monday the 22nd (although I suspect it will arrive fashionably late). The second will be right on its heels and enhance the first. These first two storms will be the ones that drive aurora down to mid-latitudes
This week our Sun is beginning to ramp up activity due to a bunch of new regions rotating into view. At least seven new active regions have rotated into view over the last few days. We will be watching them very closely, as some of them are showing signs of increased flare activity. Amateur
This week our Sun steps into high gear. We have multiple glancing solar storm blows along with a pocket of fast solar wind on its way. Aurora photographers at high latitudes should get a nice show, but it may not be enough for mid-latitude photographers. That being said, with active regions 3511 and 3513
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Im on the road this week, but our Sun is hard at work! Activity is picking up, big time. We have no less than 11 active regions in Earth-view right now with more rotating into view over the next few days. Several of these are X-flare players, which means lots of
This week our Sun continues a moderate level of activity. Region 3473, as it was just rotating into Earth view, launched a massive solar storm, which is grazing Earth now. Along with some fast solar wind from a large coronal hole these bumpy conditions have caused aurora visible at high latitudes. Views at mid-latitudes
This week solar activity increases Earthside with several solar storm launches that could give us a glancing blow followed by a fast wind chaser. Although not very strong, the combination of these three things could enhance effects enough to give us some aurora. Aurora photographers, especially at high latitudes could get some nice views
This week much of the activity is on the farside of the Sun, giving us a much needed break. After the multiple X-class flares and G3-level solar storm we sure can use it! That being said, we do have a large coronal hole that will be rotating through the Earth-strike zone over the next
This week our Sun kicks into high gear launching a train of solar storms towards Earth. The first two should arrive on August 4th with a third arriving early to midday August 5th. We will likely bump up to G1 storm levels, with activity peaking on the 5th, but lasting possibly through the 6th
This week, the big events are focused on the Sun's farside, but we still have quite a bit of activity facing Earth, including an Earth-directed solar storm. Sadly, nothing spoils a good aurora forecast like a solar storm hitting early. Even though NASA and NOAA predicted the arrival on July 26, the storm had
Our Sun has been extremely busy this week firing off so many glancing solar storm blows that the media has had a hard time keeping track of all of the action. In particular Region 3363 has been a major source of this activity, topping things off with a whopper of a solar storm launch
Our Sun gives us a mixed bag this week with several glancing blows from solar storms and some R1-R2-level radio blackouts. Most of the activity is due to region 3354, which is continuing to make its way across the earth-facing disk and will rotate to the Sun's farside in about four days. Aurora photographers
Big flare activity returns this week with several active regions, namely 3323 and 3327 that have radio blackout potential. along with at least one, if not two more regions rotating into view over the coming days, this means we will see more noise on the radio bands, ICAO space weather aviation advisories, and the
After a few days spent napping our Sun wakes up with a new set of regions rotating into view. The first is region 3310, which has already fired a near X-class flare and promises to give us a good show over the next two weeks. Amateur radio operators and GPS users, expect radio blackouts
This week our Sun keeps activity at mild levels with some wispy solar storms and a only a few active regions in Earth view. One of these is region 3272, which has fired a couple big flares, which will keep radio blackouts on the menu this week. In addition, we do have a small
This week our Sun switches gears, with solar flare activity falling and solar storm activity picking up. We have a stealthy solar storm lurking in front of some fast solar wind coming this week, in fact, the stealthy solar storm has just arrived! The initial impact is strong (at a G3-level, but it has
Our Sun gets busy this week launching multiple solar storms, some of which are Earth-directed and one massive storm that is farsided. The first of the Earth-directed storms has just arrived (a bit earlier than forecasted) and aurora photographers at high latitudes are already getting a good show. However, the impact thus far is
This week we are finally calming down just a little before more activity rotates into view. We will be experiencing some unsettled solar wind as a small pocket of fast solar wind rolls on through, but likely only aurora photographers at high latitudes will be able to benefit and get some views. That being
We are feeling the impact of the first of two solar storms in what will be a 1,2-punch over the next few days. This first storm is already lighting up the skies with aurora in the UK and as of this writing we are beginning to see aurora as far south in the USA
This week our Sun goes viral with a stunning polar vortex that reveals some of its mysterious dynamics in the one final region still uncharted by solar telescopes (that is until Solar Orbiter begins to climb to higher latitudes later in its mission). This vortex has now been cited in many media outlets as
This week our Sun quiets down as the remaining two big flare players rotate to the Sun's farside. We are still dealing with a bit of fast solar wind from a coronal hole that is rotating through the Earth-strike zone, but it is underperforming thus far. Aurora photographers at high latitudes can get a
This week our Star continues firing on all cylinders as over half of the nine active regions in Earth-view are either big-flare players or solar storm producers. the short-duration flares we enjoyed last week have given way to longer-duration flares that accompany solar storm launches. As such we now have one partly-Earth-directed solar storm
This week the weather from our star remains at moderate levels. Impacts early this week have been mainly due to fast solar wind from some small coronal holes that are now rotating to the Sun's farside. However, another larger coronal hole will send us some more fast solar wind over the next few days.
Our Sun calms down just a little bit this week. We had over 20 radio blackouts on Earth's dayside from December 14 though December 17 due to several troublemakers, namely Regions 3156 and 3163, and 3165, but the last of the bunch (region 3163) is now rotating to the Sun's farside. This is good
This week our Sun's bark is worse than its bite with multiple filaments launching partly towards Earth, but only light impacts are expected. Aurora photographers at high latitudes may be the only ones to catch a show this week. Despite this lackluster performance, we have at least nine numbered regions in Earth-view, which ensures
Our Sun switches gears this week as the set of active regions that gave us some big flares and radio blackouts last week rotates to the Sun's farside and a dark coronal hole begins to rotate into the Earth-strike zone. This means radio communications on Earth's dayside will improve, and aurora possibilities on Earth's
With Hurricane Ian impacting Florida this week, we really needed the Sun to stay quiet, but no such luck. We have some incoming fast solar wind along with a grazing passage of a solar storm that together could bump us up to G2-levels (possibly G3-levels/Kp7 at high latitudes) over the next few days. This
This week we say goodbye to big flare player region 3098 and hello to region 3102 as we wait for even bigger flare player, old region 3089 to rotate back into Earth-view. This means we are getting a slight reprieve when it comes to radio blackouts from big flares on Earth's dayside. Amateur radio
This week our Sun is trading big flare-players for a nice chance for aurora. We say goodbye to region 3088 as it rotates off the Sun's west limb and to the farside. Guaranteed we will keep a close watch on it to see whether it survives the next two weeks and will return. Meanwhile
Our Sun lights up this week with two big flare players that have the X-factor. Regions 3088 and 3089 have been firing big solar flares over the past few days causing R1-R2 level radio blackouts on Earth's dayside. In addition, region 3088 has been launching partly Earth-directed solar storms. These storms are expected to
This week our Sun calms down a bit, but still gives us mixed bag of active regions, coronal holes and solar eye candy. We have multiple active regions on the Earth-facing disk, including a big-flare player. Luckily, this region has been underperforming. The good news is that solar flux is finally back into the
This week our Sun turns up the volume and the beauty as it launches not one but two Earth-directed solar storms. The first of these cartwheels off the Sun during launch in a graceful ballet, one that will make its magnetic field orientation hard to predict when it arrives at Earth. NASA predictions show
This week our Sun switches gears and brings big flare players back into Earth view. Several of these regions have X-flare potential, but thus far have only been firing M-class flares. Solar flux also rises well into the 150s, even into the 160s at times. This means radio propagation is back into the good
Just as we are calming down from one solar storm, our Sun sends us another! Although this solar storm is wispy and slow, it is rather large and could give us some decent aurora possibilities this week. NASA predictions indicate it should hit Earth around mid-day on July 1. Aurora photographers at high-latitudes should
This week our Sun displays some explosive growth as we switch from a nearly spotless Sun last week to having at least eight active regions on the Earth-facing disk. Several of these are big-flare players with region 3031 being the one to watch at the moment. In addition, back on the 13th region 3030
Our Sun has been busy, but Earth has remained outside the crosshairs for most of the activity. There are quite a few active regions on the Earth-facing disk, including a X-flare player, but with the exception of a few radio blackouts, these regions have not caused us any lasting effects. In fact, no solar
Our Sun continues to keep us busy with two X-flare players on the Earth-facing Sun along with several filaments poised to erupt as they cross the Earth-Strike Zone. We already have one Earth-directed solar storm on its way to Earth that should give us a glancing blow by early May 9. This solar storm
This week our Sun dims down a bit when it comes to sunspots, but not solar activity! We have an Earth-directed solar storm on its way. It will be followed by some fast solar wind that will serve to enhance the impact of this solar storm. Aurora photographers should get a good chance for
After no less than 12 M-class flares,1 X-class flare, 3 Radiations storms, and 2 Earth-directed Solar storms, region 2975 finally rotates behind the West limb of the Sun. If only that meant solar activity would slow down. Nope! Believe it or not, big flares are still on the menu, at least for the next
We have two back-to-back solar storms on their way to Earth! The second one will catch up and slam into the first before they reach Earth, which will intensify the impact when they arrive. Although the storms are expected to be a G2-level, NOAA has issued a G3-level watch for this set of storms
We have a big Earth-directed solar storm that has arrived early and is impacting Earth now! We are already seeing some amazing aurora in New Zealand right now with more on the way. In fact, this particular solar storm is unique in that we have an upstream measurement of this storm by Solar Orbiter
Our star really jumps into high gear now that we have crossed the terminator. Old region 2963 is at it's tricks again on the Sun's farside, this time firing off a spectacular eruption that also included a radiation storm. No doubt an X-flare was involved to, but luckily for us, all of the action
This week an X-flare player, region 2936, fires a big M-flare and launches a solar storm while in the Earth-strike zone. Prediction models from NOAA, NASA, and the MetOffice estimate the solar storm will arrive at Earth by February 2. Even though this solar storm is a bit on the slow side, it should
This past week our Sun has been sending us a cornucopia of space weather phenomena, including launching several solar storms in near-Earth vicinity, firing a big solar flare, and showering us with a radiation storm! Luckily, all of their effects at Earth have been either minor, short-lived, or have missed entirely. Back on the
The Sun has Earth in its' crosshairs this week! We've had no less than three solar storms to contend with all in the past few days. The first solar storm was launched by region 2925 back on January 14 and was supposed to hit yesterday, but it missed Earth, thanks to the fast solar
This week our Sun brightens our day with some fast solar wind and new eye candy! No less than four new bright regions are now in Earth-view and solar flux is back in the triple digits! This means radio propagation on Earth's dayside is back into the good range. These conditions should continue over
Our Sun is popping some big flare potential this week, with no less than seven numbered regions on the Earth-facing disk (up that to nine, as of this afternoon!) Plus more are rotating into Earth view as we speak. This is translating into great radio propagation on Earth's dayside with solar flux back in
This week we have a partly Earth-directed solar storm sandwiched between two pockets of fast solar wind! The storm on its way will graze us to the south by December 3rd. NASA and NOAA prediction models disagree as to exactly when, but we can expect impact to be sometime between mid-day on December 2
Activity remains a bit subdued this week with only pockets of fast solar wind that have brought sporadic aurora to high latitudes, nothing like the show we saw a couple of weeks ago. Aurora photographers at high latitudes could get some decent views through the early part of the week, but aurora chasers at
This week we say "goodbye" to region 2891, the last of the Big Flare Players that caused the fireworks we saw last week, and "hello" to some peace and quiet. Although region 2895 is showing a little bit of activity, it is not yet filling the footsteps of it's predecessors. However, we are watching
This week our Sun is getting primed for some real activity! Although space weather has been quiet this week, multiple new regions are rotating into Earth-view (at least four) and several of them are solar storm producers. We also have one region that has the potential to become a real M-flare player. GPS users
A lot of exciting things are happening this week. We have a solar storm on its way to Earth now! It should hit later today and bring with it a good chance for aurora at mid-latitudes. It all started with region 2882 firing an M1.6-flare back on October 9, during which it launched a