:Product: 20030618RSGA.txt :Issued: 2003 Jun 18 2200 UTC # Prepared jointly by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, # Space Environment Center and the U.S. Air Force. # Joint USAF/NOAA Report of Solar and Geophysical Activity SDF Number 169 Issued at 2200Z on 18 Jun 2003 IA. Analysis of Solar Active Regions and Activity from 17/2100Z to 18/2100Z: Solar activity increased to high levels today. Region 386 (S07E43) produced an M6.8 x-ray flare (correlated using SXI imagery) at 17/2255Z that had an associated Tenflare (2100 sfu), Type IV and Type II radio sweeps (an estimated shock velocity of 1000 km/sec). This region showed growth in the magnetic structure surrounding the dominant lead spot as a delta complex has become evident since yesterday. The penumbral field coverage has changed little over the period. Newly numbered Region 387 (N18E62) produced several minor flares during the interval. IB. Solar Activity Forecast: Solar activity is expected to be at moderate to high levels. Region 386 has the potential to produce an isolated major flare. IIA. Geophysical Activity Summary 17/2100Z to 18/2100Z: The geomagnetic field was at predominantly minor to major storm levels with an isolated period of severe storm conditions seen at high latitudes between 18/0600 and 0900Z. A co-rotating integrated region preceding a recurrent high speed coronal hole stream and is believed to responsible for the storm conditions. The greater than 10 Mev proton flux at geosynchronous orbit reached event threshold at 18/2050Z and due to the recent activity the exact source for this particle event is not certain. IIB. Geophysical Activity Forecast: The geomagnetic field is expected to be at predominantly active to minor storm levels due to a recurrent high speed coronal hole stream. Isolated major storm conditions are possible on day one due to the potential for transient activity. The greater than 10 MeV proton event should remain above threshold level through the first day of the interval. III. Event Probabilities 19 Jun-21 Jun Class M 60/60/60 Class X 20/20/20 Proton 99/50/25 PCAF in progress IV. Penticton 10.7 cm Flux Observed 18 Jun 120 Predicted 19 Jun-21 Jun 120/120/120 90 Day Mean 18 Jun 125 V. Geomagnetic A Indices Observed Afr/Ap 17 Jun 030/050 Estimated Afr/Ap 18 Jun 035/050 Predicted Afr/Ap 19 Jun-21 Jun 025/035-020/025-020/025 VI. Geomagnetic Activity Probabilities 19 Jun-21 Jun A. Middle Latitudes Active 40/50/50 Minor storm 30/20/20 Major-severe storm 15/05/05 B. High Latitudes Active 40/50/50 Minor storm 40/30/30 Major-severe storm 20/10/10 VII. PLAIN To ensure continued operational monitoring of important energetic particle data, it is necessary to reassign primary/secondary designations for the GOES Space Environment Monitor (SEM) detectors. GOES 11 (113W) will become the primary satellite for protons. The transition from GOES 8 to GOES 11 was scheduled for 18 June, but has been delayed until 19 June. GOES 12 will continue as the primary satellite for magnetometer, X-ray, and electron measurements. GOES 10 (135W) will be the secondary satellite for all SEM sensors - magnetometer, X-ray, and energetic particles. Because of the degraded state of the proton data on GOES-10, its designation as the secondary source for proton data is a short-term solution. More permanent solutions have been identified and are being evaluated. Users will be notified when we define and schedule a permanent fix. Further details can be found at http://www.sec.noaa.gov/GOES.html. MAGNETOMETER On 16 June, it was determined that a scaling problem exists with the Boulder magnetometer instrument. While this problem, and its fix are being investigated the primary instrument for Boulder K-indices has been switched to the Boulder USGS (via Domsat) magnetometer, effective 1500 UTC on 16 June.