NEW ORLEANS — Scientists continue to advance the process of updating the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Scales, with the next steps expected to be taken as early as this year.
Just like there's a classification system for hurricanes and tornadoes, space weather storms that develop and pose threats to Earth have their own classification system. But these storms are a little more complex than terrestrial weather, and they must be categorized into three different types of events: geomagnetic storms, solar radiation storms and radio blackouts. These three primary areas of focus highlight the types of impacts a solar flare can have on our environment, with the scales also providing information on the likelihood of a certain level occurring and the intensity of each category, which is rated on a scale of 1 to 5.
