Spaceweather.

SOLAR RADIATION STORM IN PROGRESS: An S2-class solar radiation storm is in progress on Feb. 13th. It started yesterday when an explosion on the sun's south-western limb hurled a blizzard of energetic protons toward Earth. Twenty-four hours later, they're still coming. The storm is rich in "hard protons" wiith energies greater than 50 MeV. It is causing a short-wave radio blackout inside the Arctic Circle.

IS A 'CANNIBAL CME' COMING? Since Feb 7th, the sun has hurled multiple CMEs into space. A handful of them might hit Earth this week? A new NOAA forecast model shows at least three solar storm clouds approaching for strikes on Feb 13th.

The closely-spaced arrival of these three CMEs could spark G1 (Minor) to G2-class (Moderate) geomagnetic storms with high-latitude auroras in Northern Europe, Canada, and northern-tier US states from Maine to Washington.

There's a chance (slim but non-zero) that these CMEs will pile up to form a Cannibal CME This happens when one fast-moving CME sweeps up slower-moving CMEs in front of it. Cannibal CMEs typically contain strong shocks and enhanced magnetic fields that do a good job sparking geomagnetic storms. If such a pile-up occurs, the combined strike could cause a G3 (Strong) geomagnetic storm with auroras at mid-latitudes.


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