Geomagnetic Storms Solar Radiation Storms Radio Blackouts
NOAA Space Weather Scales
The NOAA Space Weather Scales were introduced as a way to communicate to the general public the current and future space weather conditions and their possible effects on people and systems. Many of the SEC products describe the space environment, but few have described the effects that can be experienced as the result of environmental disturbances. These scales will be useful to users of our products and those who are interested in space weather effects. The scales describe the environmental disturbances for three event types: geomagnetic storms, solar radiation storms, and radio blackouts. The scales have numbered levels, analogous to hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes that convey severity. They list possible effects at each level. They also show how often such events happen, and give a measure of the intensity of the physical causes.
The NOAA Space Weather Scales tables are shown below.
| Geomagnetic Storms: disturbances in the geomagnetic field caused by gusts in the solar wind that blows by Earth. | |||||
| Solar Radiation Storms: elevated levels of radiation that occur when the numbers of energetic particles increase. | |||||
| Radio Blackouts: disturbances of the ionosphere caused by X-ray emissions from the Sun. |