Yes… IT IS HOT! We have passed “heatwave” and we are now all up in the middle of a “HOTWAVE”! I heard a lady at Walmart earlier today say “It’s as hot as the sun”. Well, as it turns out… the sun is coming to visit. The National Weather Service advises us of a “Strong Solar Storm” on the way for tomorrow.

Here is what the NWS had to say on recent, and coming solar activity for our area.

Recent Space Weather Activity, and More on the Way



Event

  • A trio of significant active regions produced a series of radio blackout (solar flare) events in the past few days.
  • To date, three radio blackouts reaching the R2 (Moderate) level have been observed. Earth-directed coronal mass ejections have been associated with each of the biggest radio blackout events on August 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.
  • Solar radiation enhancements have also occurred in conjunction with each of these events, with the solar radiation storm event threshold being exceeded to reach the S1 (Minor) level in conjunction with the August 4th event.
  • Three coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are currently en route to Earth, with the commencement of geomagnetic storming expected early to mid-day on August 5th with the arrival of the CMEs associated with the August 2nd and 3rd events.
  • The third of the string, seemingly the fastest CME, may catch up with the first two in the next 12-18 hours, compressing the plasma and enhancing the embedded magnetic field. Storming levels are expected to attain G3 (Strong) conditions. The current Solar Radiation Storm may experience a kick with the shocks, and attain S2 (Moderate) thresholds.
  • Some level of geomagnetic disturbance is expected to continue through August 7th as the series of CMEs affect the Earth. Continued activity is likely from these regions as they continue to rotate off the visible solar disk over the next 7 days. The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) will continue to monitor this event as it unfolds.

Impacts:

  • Significant impacts resulting in difficulty communicating with aircraft en route via HF communication have reported over both the Pacific and Atlantic sectors over the last 72 hours.
  • Polar HF communications, critical to commercial airline operations, have been impacted, but as yet conditions are not of a magnitude to cause significant changes to normal operations there. Carriers are closely watching the current activity, to act promptly if conditions intensify.
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Scientists are predicting extremely dangerous, and possibly catastrophic solar flares for 2013… but that’s another blog post I am working on.

Stay indoors, drink lots of water, let your outdoor pets indoors, drink lots of water, make use of fans to keep air circulating in your home, drink lots of water, check in on the elderly, and stay cool.

BE CAREFUL!!! EXTREME HEAT CALLS FOR EXTREME CAUTION!!!

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