Solar

29.09.2020

Solar

What can you expect when solar and geomagnetic storms happen? Storm intensity can vary from having just a beautiful show of Aurora borealis lights to slight radio disturbances, interference with signals, navigation, and GPS, to even more damaging impacts such as power surges or power failure and satellite damage. Below are links to preparedness tips, videos and monitoring sites for solar events.

There are many elements to solar alerts, the three primary are as follows. What does it mean? To understand NOAA scales (S1, R1 and G1) , read more here.

  • Solar Radiation storm – S1 through S5 (10 minor, 10.2 moderate, 10.3 strong, 10.4 severe)
  • Radio Storm – R1 through R5 (M1 Minor, M5 Moderate, X1 Strong, X10 Severe)
  • Geomagnetic Storm – G1 through G5 (K5 Minor, K6 Moderate, K7 Strong)

View the NOAA Emergency Management Dashboard here

 

Hazards & Preparedness (PDF)

  • Power Outage – English
  • Power Outage – Spanish
  • Power Outage – Arabic
  • Power Outage – Haitian Creole
  • Power Outage – Korean
  • Power Outage – French
  • Power Outage – Chinese
  • Power Outage – Tagalog

Situational Awareness & Maps:

Hashtags: #spaceweather #solarwx #suninfo #geomag

 

What can you do to prepare? Tweet these top 10 tips

It’s a good idea to sign up with your utility company for alerts on outages and with your emergency management office for reverse 911 and mobile alerts. Below are some general preparedness tips for potential impacts of a solar event.

1. Get an old fashioned papermap (your GPS might fail during geomagnetic storms) tweet

2. Unplug delicate electrical devices to prevent surge damage Tweet

3. Check your fire extinguisher, as electrical surges can sometimes cause fires Tweet

4. Have spare cash for food, gas and incidentals (ATMS could be out) Tweet

5. Top off your gas tank (if power goes out, pumps will not work) Tweet

6. Write down key phone numbers from your phone Tweet

7. Ensure your generator is ready, and you have fuel in the event of power grid issues Tweet

8. It can disrupt traffic patterns and communications so plan to leave early and treat all intersections as 4 way stops Tweet

9. Exercise patience, be alert for sudden surge or electrical disruptions and be a good neighbor Tweet

10. Discuss your reunite plan with your family. Where and when would you meet if you lost communications? Tweet

 

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