Space Weather for the Emergency Management and Preparedness Community
This talk 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 later in 2024. This presentation’s intent is to inform participants about SWPC operations, space weather storms, and primary, possible impacts of awareness or concern of impact to the emergency management and preparedness communities.
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 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), education/outreach, and other customer and partner interactions on behalf of SWPC.