Space Weather: Everything You Need to Know for the Weathercast of the Future

The NWS Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), one of the nine National Weather Service National Centers for Environmental Prediction, is the nation's official source for space weather alerts and warnings. The SWPC monitors, measures, and specifies the space environment and provides operational space weather services to end users in the USA and around the world.

The rapid advances in the technology sector and our fast growing dependency on space-based systems have resulted in an ever-increasing vulnerability to hazardous space weather. The National Weather Service is addressing these rapid changes in our space weather customer base by understanding and responding to the evolving needs and requirements of a global high-tech economy. The rapidly growing customer base requires that new space weather products and services be developed to support the diverse user areas, including national security, aviation, communications, global positioning system (GPS) applications, spacecraft operations, space exploration, and electric power grids. This presentation will address our growing vulnerability to space weather, and will introduce the SWPC products and services available to broadcast meteorologists to help inform and educate the public about these threats.