Space Weather
Space Weather Card Explained
The Space Weather card summarizes current geomagnetic disturbance at Earth and separate solar flare/radio-blackout potential.
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Quick answer / What to check next
Quick answer
The Space Weather card summarizes current geomagnetic disturbance at Earth and separate solar flare/radio-blackout potential.
What this signal means
Severe space weather can affect HF radio, GNSS/GPS accuracy, satellites, aviation routes, and grid operations.
What to check on HazardNow
main rating, Kp, flare risk, thresholds, active Sun image, source label, and updated timing.
Verify with official source
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
Quick read
- Useful for
- Severe space weather can affect HF radio, GNSS/GPS accuracy, satellites, aviation routes, and grid operations.
- Watch
- main rating, Kp, flare risk, thresholds, active Sun image, source label, and updated timing.
- Confirm with
- NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
- Remember
- Kp is global and coarse. Flare risk is separate from geomagnetic storm intensity.
How to read this card
- Main rating: Calm, Minor, Moderate, Severe, or Extreme based on current Kp thresholds.
- Kp: current planetary geomagnetic index shown as a number; higher means more geomagnetic disturbance.
- Flare risk: separate solar flare/radio-blackout potential, normalized to None/Minor/Moderate/Strong/Severe/Extreme when possible.
- Solar imagery: optional active Sun image if an image URL is present and loads.
Hover card metrics explained
- Current thresholds: Minor ≥ 5.0 Kp, Moderate ≥ 6.0, Severe ≥ 7.0, Extreme ≥ 8.0 in the dashboard display logic.
- Main rating text: explains likely operational impact for the bucket.
- Flare risk explanation: describes flare-related impact potential separately from geomagnetic storming.
- Active Sun image: image label, source label, and caption when available.
- NOAA SWPC source: source family for Kp, flare, and space-weather alerts.
What can make this status change?
- Kp rises or falls as geomagnetic conditions change.
- NOAA SWPC alert/warning context changes.
- Solar flare probability or observed flare class changes.
- Solar imagery becomes unavailable or a new source image is available.
Limitations
Kp is a global index, not a local impact forecast. Local effects depend on latitude, ground conductivity, system design, and operator mitigation. Solar images are context only.
Sources and update behavior
Space-weather readings come from NOAA SWPC-style public data. Some observations update frequently; forecasts and images have their own source cadence.
Visual reference
Space weather card signal map
Read the signal as one layer in a larger source stack, not as a standalone instruction.
Official sources to verify
Use these links to verify current source text, update timing, and agency caveats.
Last reviewed: . This page explains general preparedness information and does not replace official instructions.
FAQ
Is flare risk the same as a geomagnetic storm?
No. The hover card says flare risk is separate solar-flare hazard potential and not a direct statement of current geomagnetic storm intensity at Earth.
Related terms
Check the live HazardNow dashboard
Use this page to understand Space weather card. Use the live dashboard to see current alerts, infrastructure stress, weather, wildfire, travel, public-health, supply-chain, and stability indicators in one place. Focus on geomagnetic-storm, kp-index, solar-flare-radio-blackout in the live view.