:Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts
:Issued: 2008 May 07 1453 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center
# Product description and SWPC contact on the Web
# http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly.html
#
#                Weekly Highlights and Forecasts
#
Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity
28 April - 04 May 2008

Solar activity was very low.  Region 993 (S29, L=086, class/area,
Bxo/010 on 04 May) formed on the visible solar disk on 04 May as a
small, simple bi-polar sunspot group.  This region displayed a new
cycle magnetic configuration (positive polarity leader, negative
polarity trailer).

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached
high levels during 28 April - 01 May.

The geomagnetic field was at quiet to unsettled levels during 28
April until late in the UTC day on 30 April when activity levels
increased to unsettled to active conditions.  Mostly unsettled to
active conditions persisted until early on 02 May as activity
decreased to quiet to unsettled levels, and remained so through the
end of the summary period.  Solar wind speed measurements from the
ACE spacecraft began the period at approximately 500 km/s with the
IMF Bz ranging between +/-5 nT; speeds then slowly declined to
around 370 km/s by midday on 30 April.  At approximately 30 April at
1500 UTC an increase was observed in solar wind data consistent with
a glancing blow from a coronal mass ejection (CME) observed on 26
April.  For the next several days wind speed remained elevated with
a maximum of 525 km/s on 01 May at 0028 UTC and IMF Bz ranging
between +/- 8 nT.  Midday on 03 May a coronal hole high speed stream
rotated into a geoeffective position elevating wind speeds to around
580 km/s.  The period ended with wind speeds above 600 km/s.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity
07 May - 02 June 2008

Solar activity is expected to be very low.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is
expected to reach high levels during 07 - 08 May, 21 - 28 May, and
01 - 02 June.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at quiet to unsettled
levels 07 - 12 May.  On 13 May, a recurrent coronal hole high speed
stream is expected to increase activity levels to unsettled to
active conditions.  Activity levels are expected to decline to quiet
to unsettled levels 14 - 18 May.  Conditions should increase to
unsettled to active, with a chance for minor storm levels at middle
latitudes and major storm periods at high latitudes on 19 - 21 May,
due to a recurrent coronal hole high speed stream.  On 22 May,
activity levels should abate to quiet to unsettled levels until 26
May.  Recurrent high speed streams are expected to increase activity
again to unsettled to active levels for 27 May - 02 June.