Infinite Design and Development Hagerstown, Md. Weather Conditions

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Aurora at your location

Aurora (the northern lights) forms along an oval around the magnetic pole that grows toward the equator as the Kp index rises. Hagerstown is at about 49° geomagnetic latitude, so it takes a strong storm (Kp 6 or more) to see aurora low on the northern horizon and about Kp 8 to reach overhead. Dark skies away from town lights, a clear northern horizon and no bright moon help. The forecast is for three-hour periods and is only a guide.

HF band conditions

Estimated for typical mid-latitude paths from the solar flux, A index and K index (N0NBH model). The column that matches your daylight right now is outlined. Good, Fair and Poor are relative: Good means strong, steady signals on that band.

VHF and 6 metres

Storm scales and 3-day outlook

Geomagnetic activity (Kp)

Each bar is a 3-hour period; times are in your local time. Solid bars were measured; lighter bars with a dashed edge are NOAA's forecast. Kp 5 or more is a geomagnetic storm: HF paths near the poles weaken, and aurora can reach lower latitudes.

What do these mean?

Solar flux (SFI): Radio noise from the Sun at 10.7 cm. Higher means a more ionised upper atmosphere and better high-frequency (10 to 20 metre) propagation. Under 80 is poor, 120 and above is good.
Sunspot number: Count of sunspot groups. More spots usually means more flux and better HF conditions, and more flares.
A and K index: How disturbed Earth's magnetic field is. K runs 0 to 9 every 3 hours; A is the daily average on a different scale. Low is quiet and good for HF; high hurts HF paths over the poles.
X-ray flux: Solar flare strength, from A and B (quiet) to C, M and X (strongest). M and X flares can black out the sunlit side's HF radio for minutes to hours (scale R1 to R5).
Solar wind and Bz: Speed of the stream from the Sun and the direction of its magnetic field. Fast wind with a southward (negative) Bz opens the door for geomagnetic storms and aurora.
NOAA scales: R is radio blackouts, S is solar radiation storms, G is geomagnetic storms. 0 means none; 1 is minor and 5 is extreme.
Signal noise: The expected background noise level on HF, in S-units.