“History shows that big sunspot cycles ‘ramp up’ faster than small ones,” he says. “I expect to see the first sunspots of the next cycle appear in late 2006 or 2007—and Solar Max to be underway by 2010 or 2011.”
Who’s right? Time will tell. Either way, a storm is coming.
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/10mar_stormwarning.htm
Time has already been spent. As impressive as this CME is, I think we are in for a lesser than usual Solar max as we are just now getting into the new cycle (4 to 5 years late at least according to your snippet).