Status Report

Space Wether Outlook #00-41 2000 September 19 at 02:58 p.m. MDT

By SpaceRef Editor
September 19, 2000
Filed under

Official Space Weather Advisory issued by NOAA Space Environment Center

Boulder, Colorado, USA

SPACE WEATHER OUTLOOK #00-41

2000 September 19 at 02:58 p.m. MDT (2000 September 19 2058 UT)

**** SPACE WEATHER OUTLOOK ****

Summary For September 11-17

Space weather increased to strong (category 3) levels during the week. A
G3 (strong) geomagnetic storm occurred during 3:00 – 9:00 p.m. MDT on
September 17 (17/2100 – 18/0300 UTC) due to a CME passage at Earth.
Category G3 geomagnetic storms may cause the following system effects:
voltage corrections may be required and false alarms may be triggered
on some protection devices on electrical power grids; surface charging
may occur on satellite components, drag may increase on low-Earth-orbit
satellites, and corrections may be needed for satellite orientation
problems; intermittent satellite navigation and low-frequency radio
navigation problems may occur; high-frequency radio communication may
be intermittent; and aurora is visible as low as 50 degrees latitude. A
category R2 (moderate) radio blackout occurred at 10:26 p.m. MDT on
September 16 (17/0426 UTC) due to a large solar flare. Category R2
radio blackouts may result in the following system effects on the
sunlit portion of Earth: limited blackout of high-frequency radio
communication resulting in loss of radio contact for tens of minutes
and degradation of low-frequency navigation signals for tens of
minutes. A category S2 (moderate) solar radiation storm occurred during
September 12 – 15 due to a long-duration, moderate-sized solar flare.
Category S2 solar radiation storms may cause the following system
effects: spacecraft may experience isolated single event upsets, small
effects on high-frequency radio communication through the polar
regions, and navigation at the polar caps may be affected.

Outlook For September 20-26
Space weather is expected to be at minor to moderate levels. A category
G1 (minor) to G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm is expected on September
20. An isolated category R2 (moderate) radio blackout is possible
sometime during the period. Otherwise, isolated category R1 (minor)
radio blackouts are expected. A category S1 solar radiation storm is
also possible during the period.

Data used to provide space weather services are contributed by NOAA,
USAF, NASA, NSF, USGS, the International Space Environment Services
and other observatories, universities, and institutions. More
information is available at SEC’s Web site http://sec.noaa.gov or
(303) 497-5127. The NOAA Public Affairs contact is Barbara McGehan
at bmcgehan@boulder.noaa.gov or (303) 497-6288.

SpaceRef staff editor.