European Space Weather Week 2025

The May 2024 geomagnetic storm – an operational forecaster’s perspective

Oct 30, 2025, 10:45 AM

18m

Miklagård

Oral APL1 - Space Weather Services and Alerts for End-Users: Bridging Forecasting, Infrastructure, and Communication APL1 - Space Weather Services and Alerts for End-Users: Bridging Forecasting, Infrastructure, and Communication

Speaker

Chris Lock (Met Office)

Description

On May 10th 2024, the arrival of a series of CMEs led to the largest geomagnetic storm since 2003 and resulted in auroras observed at mid latitudes worldwide as well reported impacts across a range of sectors. This presentation offers a case study of the storm from the perspective of an operational forecaster at the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC) over the duration of the event. This will present a timeline of the event, shining a light on the challenges the MOSWOC advisors face in a real-world forecasting situation. We shall show the evolution from the initial analysis using our existing observational and forecast model capability, through to how we used this to inform and engage with key customers and stakeholders across a range of sectors, and how we were able to effectively communicate the risks and potential impacts of the event.