Inform the EM Community about space weather risks and hazards, and provide it in an informative and contextual context. Discuss primary solar storms of concern and potential impacts to our society and the technology we rely upon. Provide a background of historical space weather events from the past and how they could be majorly impactful today – potentially disruptive to our electric power grid, GPS accuracy, communications, satellites, and more. Inform about the recent May 2024 Extreme Storm, its dramatic effects, and how much work was done to mitigate that storm’s impacts even though is was no where close to the strength of what is known as historically possible. Relate this complex and little understood natural hazard to the EM Community and help them understand the Space Weather Prediction Center’s role and operational support in this realm.

• Course Level: Beginner

About the Presenter

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 held several meteorological forecasting positions with the USAF and the NWS until 2015, when he was hired as a physical scientist and senior space weather forecaster by the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).

He was selected as SWPC’s first Service Coordinator in August of 2023 and now leads Impact-based Decision Support Services (IDSS) issues, relations, and products. He also leads education/outreach initiatives and efforts and conducts many customer and partner interactions on behalf of SWPC – to include working with the press/media, broadcast meteorologists, and emergency management community.