= NOW 18 WPM transition file follows =

This past reporting week, June 16 to 22, began with a bang, when the
daily sunspot number was 159. But sunspot numbers declined every day
to finally reach 80 on June 22.  One new sunspot group emerged on
June 15, another on June 16, one more on June 18, and another on
June 21.  Average daily sunspot number over the week was 124.6, up
substantially from 74.3 the previous seven days.  Average daily
solar flux rose from 123.9 to 140.5.  Average daily planetary A
index rose from 9.7 to 11.4, and the middle latitude numbers
increased one point to 11.9 It was great to see the Sun covered with
spots on Spaceweather.com.  Use the Archives feature toward the
upper right, and you can see the daily solar images on the left side
of the page for any date in the past. I particularly appreciated the
image of June 17, our Sun blanketed with sunspots.  Unfortunately, a
California wildfire cut off power to the Solar Dynamics Observatory
Data Center at Stanford University, so solar images are not being
provided, according to Spaceweather.com.  The latest from US Air
Force forecasters Housseal and King at the USAF 557th Weather Wing
shows predicted solar flux at 120, 115 and 110 on June 24 to 26, and
Planetary A index of 8, 12 and 15. Field Day is actually on June 25
and 26, but it is useful to see the prediction for Friday. The
planetary A index shoes a moderate but increasing geomagnetic
instability.  Newsweek reported a recent sunspot.  You can read the
article on //bit.ly/ .  The latest, Thursday night, forecast from
USAF shows solar flux at 120 and 115 on June 24 and 25, 110 on June
26 and 27, 100 on June 28 and 29, 105 on June 30, 100 on July 1 and
2, then 105, 110, 115, 120 and 125 on July 3 to 7, 130 on July 8 and
9, 135 on July 10, 140 on July 11 to 16, then 138, 134, 125 and 121
on July 17 to 20, then 114, 118 and 105 on July 21 to 23, 100 on
July 24 to 29, then 105, 110, 115 and 120 on July 30 through August
2.  The planetary A index prediction is 8, 12, and 15 on June 24 to
26, 5 on June 27 to July 7, then 8, 8, 12 and 8 on July 8 to 11, 5
on July 12 and 13, 12 on July 14 to 16, 10 on July 17, 5 on July 18
and 19, then 12, 18, 12 and 10 on July 20 to 23, then 5 on July 24
through August 3, and 8 on August 4 and 5.  The distribution of
active areas on the Sun according to heliographic latitudes has
changed relatively little during the last three solar rotations,
therefore the predictions of the overall solar activity level were
quite reliable.  The parameters of the solar wind, measured around
the Earth, and the activity of the geomagnetic field had a similar
course.  The highest usable frequencies of the ionospheric layer F2
were increased on June 19 and 20. The sporadic E layer played the
most important role in the shortwave propagation on June 16 to 19.
The latest space weather video from Dr. Tamitha Skov, WX6SWW, can be
found on //youtu.be/ .  A story about how We cant reliably predict
solar cycles can be found at, //bit.ly/ .  Sunspot numbers were 159,
152, 145, 120, 112, 104, and 80, with a mean of 124.6. 10.7 cm flux
was 146.7, 148.9, 140.2, 143.6, 136.5, 138.8, and 128.7, with a mean
of 140.5.  Estimated planetary A indices were 12, 13, 14, 12, 10, 8,
and 11, with a mean of 11.4. Middle latitude A index was 14, 14, 15,
10, 10, 10, and 10, with a mean of 11.9.

= END OF 18 WPM transition file <