This webinar will highlight the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), space weather activity, and potential impacts. Space weather has become a concern for our society due to its ability to disrupt or degrade certain types of communications and technologies. Congressional and executive legislation has been passed to improve space weather science and forecasting because of the risk for an extreme space weather event to adversely affect commerce and our way of life. Solar Cycle 25 is progressing, with solar maximum predicted to be around 2025. This presentation’s intent is to inform participants about SWPC operations, space weather storms, and primary, possible impacts – such as aviation, communications, and the power grid as related to hazard mitigation planning and the EM community.
Shawn Dahl
Mr. Shawn Dahl is a U.S. Air Force (USAF) retiree (22 years) where he spent most of his career in the field of meteorology and space weather. He retired from active duty in 2007 and was hired as a lead weather forecaster at Scott AFB, IL, responsible for worldwide aviation hazards and meteorological forecasts for USAF missions around the globe (2007-2012). He next moved to Hawaii to work for the National Weather Service (NWS) 2012-2015; where he handled the upper air program and managed Kauai island’s cooperative weather observation network. Finally, he was hired as a physical scientist by the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in 2015 as a space weather forecaster. He was recently selected as SWPC’s first Service Coordinator and now leads Impact-based Decision Support Services (IDSS) issues and relations, education/outreach, and many customer and partner interactions on behalf of SWPC.4