:Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts
:Issued: 2000 Mar 21 2112 UT
HIGHLIGHTS OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY
13 - 19 MARCH 2000

SOLAR ACTIVITY WAS PREDOMINANTLY MODERATE FOR THE WEEK.  A TOTAL OF 7
LOW-LEVEL M-CLASS EVENTS WAS OBSERVED.  REGION 8906 (S16, L=122,
CLASS AREA EKC/900 ON 14 MARCH) WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR 6 OF THOSE
M-CLASS FLARES.  THIS REGION EXHIBITED SIGNIFICANT MAGNETIC
COMPLEXITY, INCLUDING SEVERAL DELTA CONFIGURATIONS, DURING THE
PERIOD.  REGION 8910 (N12, L=071, CLASS/AREA EKC/590 ON 19 MARCH)
WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OTHER M-CLASS EVENT.  THIS REGION GREW AT A
MODERATE PACE DURING THE PERIOD AND DEVELOPED A DELTA CONFIGURATION
AT THE END OF THE PERIOD.  MANY CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS OCCURRED
DURING THE WEEK.  NONE APPEARED TO BE EARTH DIRECTED.

REAL-TIME SOLAR WIND DATA WERE AVAILABLE FROM THE NASA ADVANCED
COMPOSITION EXPLORER (ACE) SPACECRAFT FOR ALMOST ALL OF THE PERIOD. 
SOLAR WIND VELOCITY WAS BELOW NORMAL FOR MOST OF THE TIME AND OTHER
PARAMETERS WERE NOMINAL.

THERE WERE NO PROTON EVENTS DETECTED AT GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT.

THE GREATER THAN 2 MEV ELECTRON FLUX AT GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT WAS AT
NORMAL TO MODERATE LEVELS.

THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELD WAS GENERALLY QUIET FOR THE WEEK.  BRIEF
UNSETTLED CONDITIONS WERE OBSERVED TOWARD THE END OF THE PERIOD.

FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY
22 MARCH - 17 APRIL 2000

SOLAR ACTIVITY SHOULD BE GENERALLY MODERATE FOR THE NEXT 27 DAYS. 
REGION 8910 IS CAPABLE OF GENERATING OCCASIONAL M-CLASS FLARES PRIOR
TO ITS WEST LIMB TRANSIT ON 25-26 MARCH.  THERE IS A SLIGHT
POSSIBILITY OF A MAJOR FLARE FROM THIS REGION PRIOR TO THAT TIME. 
PREVIOUSLY ACTIVE LONGITUDES ARE EXPECTED TO RETURN DURING THE NEXT
TWO WEEKS THAT SHOULD HELP MAINTAIN MODERATE LEVELS OF ACTIVITY FOR
THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.

SHOULD REGION 8910 PRODUCE A MAJOR FLARE, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY OF A
SOLAR PROTON EVENT DURING THE EARLY PART OF THE FORECAST PERIOD.

THE GREATER THAN 2 MEV ELECTRON FLUX AT GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT SHOULD
BECOME ELEVATED DURING THE 25-28 MARCH PERIOD.  NORMAL LEVELS ARE
FORECAST FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE UPCOMING SOLAR ROTATION.

THE GEOMAGNETIC FIELD SHOULD REMAIN QUIET TO UNSETTLED UNTIL 24 MARCH
WHEN A CORONAL HOLE RELATED DISTURBANCE IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN. 
PREDOMINANTLY UNSETTLED TO ACTIVE CONDITIONS SHOULD BE EXPERIENCED
THROUGH 26 MARCH.  ISOLATED MINOR STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE
DURING THAT PERIOD.  BARRING THE OCCURRENCE OF FUTURE EARTH DIRECTED
CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS, THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD SHOULD CONSIST
OF QUIET TO UNSETTLED CONDITIONS.


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