Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Activity picks up this week in a big way with a lot of eye-candy on the Earth-facing Sun and on the farside too. Two Earth-directed solar storms could impact Earth this week bringing aurora down to mid-latitudes during the holiday festivities. Although the storming isnt expected to be very strong, we are nearing a new moon so that should help the aurora stand out against the nighttime skies. But even if the aurora shows are underwhelming, there are many more storm producers on the Sun right now that could send more storms our way. Amateur radio operators and GPS should expect noise levels to continue rising on the dayside radio bands and a heightened risk of big R2-R3 level radio blackouts on the dayside over the next two weeks, thanks to some big returning regions and some new flare players rotating into Earth view. The risk for radiation storms will also begin rising again as we move into the first week of December. Learn the details of the coming solar storms, watch an historically strong event launch on the Sun’s farside, and see what else is in store.

This week our star kicks activity into high gear with some fast-growing active regions in Earth view. One of these taking center stage is Region 3883, which has fired multiple big flares and launched a very dense solar storm that looks to have an Earth-directed component. If this storm grazes Earth, as the models predict it will, it could cause some aurora shows at high latitudes starting midday to late November 6. Even if this storm misses Earth, the region is remaining active and is beginning to rotate into the Earth-strike zone now. We may see more Earth-directed events from it in the coming days. Amateur radio operators and GPS users need to remain vigilant for signal issues on Earth’s dayside since R3-level radio blackouts are on back on the menu. We have already seen several big flares (at the R2-level) over the past couple days. Noise on the dayside radio bands is expected to remain high over the course of this week. Learn the details of the coming solar storm, watch Region 3883 and a few others develop into big-flare players, and find out what else our Sun has in store.

Our Sun launched multiple Earth-directed solar storms towards Earth this week, with the first one hitting us just now (it is fashionably late). The second will likely hit late on September 12 and be followed by some fast solar wind. This means aurora photographers could be in for an extended show from about now till possibly September 13. In addition, several big-flare and big solar storm producing regions are beginning to rotate into Earth view. Amateur radio operators and GPS users should expect increasingly difficult conditions for radio propagation over this coming week, especially while the ongoing mild radiation storm continues to impact high-latitude regions. Radio operators and GPS users should expect issues on Earth’s dayside over this week (and possibly next) with the worst impacts at the poles calming down by September 14. Of course, UAV pilots should stay vigilant, especially on Earth’s nightside near aurora and during dawn and dusk. Learn the details of the coming solar storms, see what is on the farside of the Sun and find out what else our Sun has in store.

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 Sun’s farside. Two of these regions are familiar big-flare players from the previous rotation. In fact, one of them (old Region 3786) fired an M5.6-flare causing an R2-level radio blackout just a few hours ago. Along with that flare, it also launched a big non-Earth-directed solar storm and a weak radiation storm too. Expect this region, along with the other three to rotate into Earth-view over the next 24 to 48 hours. This means radio noise and radio blackout risk is expected to increase on Earth’s dayside over the coming week. We also could be in for more Earth-directed solar storm launches later this week as well. Learn the details of these new regions about to rotate into Earth view, find out if any aurora will be visible, and see what else our Sun has in store this week.

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 weekend. Aurora photographers at high latitudes might get a chance for some good views though. We are also anticipating old Region 3697, which will begin to rotate back into Earth view starting around Saturday. Expect the chance for big flares and radio blackouts to begin to rise again as we move into next week. This region has been busy firing big flares and storms on the Sun’s farside so we could see this behavior continue once it rotates into view. Learn the details of the coming fast solar wind, watch some of the gorgeous filament eruptions over the past couple of days, as well as some that have yet to erupt, and see what else our Sun has in store.

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 is a solar storm that has a clear signature in coronagraphs but no clear signature on the solar disk itself. As such, the agencies disagree as to whether or not the storm is Earth-directed. Discover the details leading to this mystery, get an idea of what is happening at Mars, and see what else our Sun has in store. Want early access to these forecasts, tutorials on Space Weather, & more? Visit: https://patreon.com/SpaceweatherWoman

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 we did in early May. But Nope! The Sun was simply testing to see who was paying close attention. This is a real reminder that although space weather phenomena are easy to see, they arent always easy to interpret properly. Learn the details of this solar prankster, see what regions are lurking on the far side, and find else our Sun has in store this week. Want early access to these forecasts, tutorials on Space Weather, & more? Visit: https://patreon.com/SpaceweatherWoman

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 storm launches it did the last time around (remember it launched 8 solar storms at Earth within 48 hours), this region does still have the potential to produce large X-class flares and strong solar storms. This means we all need to stay vigilant, watch the activity unfold, and plan accordingly.

In this full Space Weather News Forecast, not only do I go over all of the activity from this region in detail as it transited the farside, but I also go over some of the lesser-known, but highly impactful consequences of the recent G5-level super storm from the last time this region was in view. Learn the details of the activity surrounding this region, see why radio blackouts are back on the menu, and find out what else our Sun has in store.

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 we travel through the “turbulent” outer envelope of this fast-moving storm. Aurora views will likely grace the skies tonight through the weekend as this series of storms hit back-to-back. Learn the details of how this solar storm train came about, learn where and when aurora will be visible, discover how these storms are impacting communications and navigation around the globe, and find out how they might impact you.

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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 are more a minor inconvenience than anything. Radio flux has also topped the 200s again (with a peak over 250! for a short while), which means radio propagation is good, even on the nightside, but GPS users at low latitudes might find this high level causes more reception issues, especially in the afternoon and early evenings. As far as storming goes, we are expecting some fast solar wind along with a partially Earth-directed solar storm coming over the next few days, which will give aurora photographers some aurora to smile about, especially at high latitudes. Learn the details of the coming solar storm and fast solar wind, see when these radio blackouts might die down, and find out what else our Sun has in store.