What You Really Need To Know About Solar Storms and How To Protect Against Their Impacts

The Solar Storm Threat has been a very big topic for quite a while. In fact it has been the top searched and read topic of all my posts in the last year. The latest post I did here on this subject has over 300 views just this month alone. 

That post is: Protecting Against Solar Flares, Electromagnetic Pulse, and Geomagnetic Storms

While that post is a good one I wrote in haste almost a year ago now and could not get into the topic as in depth as I would have liked. I was however able to write a 2 part series on this topic that explains in more detail how these events occur and what kind of impact they produce. 

There is still so much misconception out there on this topic and many of it reproduced by well meaning people. Though I can't copy these articles since when I wrote them and they were published I no longer own the copyright to them. I can however provide links to the actual articles.

Please take the time to read them if this is a topic that interests you and I am sure you will learn a great deal. In Part 1 I discuss how these events happen usually, but not always starting with a massive solar flare. Still in Part 1 I also talk about the effects and impacts.

Then in Part 2 i mention actual ways to protect against the electromagnetic or geomagnetic storm that is produced. It does not cover everything by any means and I suggest you purchase the book I reference for further reading.

I present to you:

The Solar Storm Threat | Part 1: How Solar Flares & CMEs Can Impact Your Business

The Solar Storm Threat | Part 2: Basic Steps You Can Take To Protect Your Business

Let me know your thoughts, any feedback, and if you have tried experiments on your own. Also, in case you are not aware. These same protections are effective to protect against an EMP as well.

Protecting Against Solar Flares, Electromagnetic Pulse, and Geomagnetic Storms

Lately I have been getting a large amount of inquiries about protecting against Solar Flares, Coronal Mass Ejections (CME’s), Geomagnetic Storms (also called Geomagnetic Induced Currents) and Solar Storms.  In fact it is one of the top searches on Disaster Preparedness Blog for the last year and for good reason, as we are entering the Solar Maximum phase which in most cases causes an increase in solar activity.

I did a few previous articles that explain a bit about what these are and how they have impacted businesses and infrastructure during past events that you can read more about here:

Sun Spots, Solar Flares, and Geomagnetic Induced Currents Can Disrupt Your Business

Coronal Mass Ejection May Cause Disruptions Being Called Solar Tsunami by Some

What exactly is Space Weather and Why you Should Care

Protecting against Solar Flares, CME’s, Geomagnetic Storms, and other related Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) such as an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) or lightening strike is possible and is something I offer to businesses, agencies and organizations through my consulting and services business Continuity Co., LLC.

I have never actually written about anything on protecting against these threats here for a number of reasons, mostly due to the number of myths that exist and often reinforced by bad information around the internet. I have even seen some good information on protecting your equipment called bogus so trying to find the correct information can at times be like navigating a mine field unless you are in the know.

Thanks to a fellow preparedness expert and someone I consider a friend, Arthur T. Bradley Ph.D. consumers and even small businesses can now make preparing and protecting against this kind of threat easier, cost effective, and even worth consideration.

Arthur Bradley recently wrote the book (literally) on just this topic called Emergency Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms. In fact, he didn’t just write the book, but he also tested and provides detailed information on methods some of the common and easy protection methods you can use to protect your electronics.

If you are a big business there are additional methods, steps and equipment you can use to give you added protection from these events. However, they are not always as cost effective for smaller businesses or consumers, but the information contained in the book will certainly help you.

Since protecting against these events is an inquiry I do get often If you would like more information on how to protect your business from Solar Flares, EMP's and Geomagnetic Storms please feel free to contact me.

As part of this post I am also giving away ONE (1) autographed copy of Arthur Bradley’s new book Emergency Preparedness for EMP Attacks and Solar Storms. To enter, please leave a comment on why you would find this information useful, what steps if any you have taken in the past to protect against these threats, and why you feel you should get a copy of the book. I will choose a person randomly as the winner. Don’t miss out the book is filled with great tips and useful information you can use to enhance your disaster preparations.

Once the giveaway contest is complete I will do a followup with a few more details on protecting against these events. The contest will run until May 1, 2012 12:00 AM.

Latest Solar Flare Causes Outage Hype, But Poses Little Threat

The latest solar storm that started on Valentine’s Day this past Monday produced the largest flare since December 5, 2006. According to NASA it is not large enough to cause widespread outages, but will produce pretty light shows.

The type of flare produced was a type X2 Flare, with types M and X being the strongest class of flares, and are numbered from 1 through 9 with 9 being the strongest.

While outages from flares and solar storms are possible, this series does not seem powerful enough to cause any. Though it is possible that additional and stronger flares could occur, especially since we are nearing the beginning phase of this solar cycle and more flares will be coming.

I’ve recently noticed a large spike in the number of views I have been getting on past posts that discuss the potential for solar storms and solar flares to be devastating, so I thought it might be appropriate to create this post letting people know that in this latest series there is little to worry about.

If you are interested in the effects that these storms could have or have had in the past the following related past posts may be if interest to you:

Sun Spots, Solar Flares, and Geomagnetic Induced Currents Can Disrupt Your Business

Coronal Mass Ejection May Cause Disruptions, Being Called Solar Tsunami by Some

What Exactly Is Space Weather and Why You Should Care?

What Exactly Is Space Weather and Why You Should Care?

As noted in other recent posts space weather such as solar flares, solar storms and CME's (Coronal Mass Ejections) can have a large impact on our planet, or business operations and daily lives. 

Though space weather can have a big impact, most people are unaware of what it is, or the damage that can occur from it. It is important enough that space weather is monitored 24 hours a day, every day.

Here is a video from NASA explaining a bit about what space weather is and the impact its affects can have.

Here is actual video of the recent fast moving solar flare with CME:

 See the following other post on this topic:

Coronal Mass Ejection May Cause Disruptions, Being Called Solar Tsunami by Some

Sun Spots, Solar Flares, and Geomagnetic Induced Currents Can Disrupt Your Business

Coronal Mass Ejection May Cause Disruptions, Being Called Solar Tsunami by Some

Source SDO

Are you prepared to deal with communications disruptions, power outages and other effects from solar storms? If you haven't yet considered the possibility that your business could be disrupted by such an event, read on.

Four large Coronal Mass Ejection's or CME's occurred on the 1st of August (see August 1, 2010 CME) causing an intense light show when they arrived here on August 2nd. NOAA forecasters are expecting the second cloud to arrive either tonight or tomorrow on August 5th.

While the Sun has been quiet for some time now, two of the four CME's that I am aware of, are being called Solar Tsunami's by the media, were Earth facing and classified as a C-3 and a C-2 in the solar flare classification scale.

Why is this an important event? Because scientists are concerned that the electrical impulses may damage certain parts of our infrastructure such as the power grids, telephone lines and several satellites may also be damaged by the event.

Since I am always looking at emerging events that can disrupt your business, I'd like to point out that I  wrote about this topic last July in the following post: Sun Spots, Solar Flares, and Geomagnetic Induced Currents Can Disrupt Your Business.

Truthfully, these current CMS's shouldn't do anything more than provide a spectacular light show, but disruptions can still occur. The one to watch will be the predicted soalr storm of 2013 if it happenes. We will provide updates to this event as it unfolds if anything important surrounding it occurs.

The estimated time of arrival of the event is list as follows: 

• Wednesday, August 4 – 07:00 UTC
• Wednesday, August 4 – 17:00 UTC
• Thursday, August 5 – 00:00 UTC
• Thursday, August 5 – 06:00 UTC