Weather preparedness includes a whole lot more than just watching the forecasters on the evening news to figure out what you should wear the next day.

Weather preparedness is a broad subject that includes understanding different types of weather events, forecasting, and events such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs) - and how all of these affect your preparations. Real prepping requires understanding any events that might impact your home, your loved ones, and your environment.

Listen to this weather preparedness podcast episode to increase your weather preparedness and be ready to overcome any challenges that may lie ahead.

What Is a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)?

Coronal mass ejections are explosions of plasma and particles from the sun's corona that move into outer space. The magnetosphere protects the earth from harmful CME particles. The CMEs happen as the sun goes through differing activity cycles.

It's important to note that solar flares are not the same thing as CMEs. Phys.org explains:

"CMEs and solar flares are both explosions that occur on the Sun," the folks at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center's Scientific Visualization Studio explain. "Sometimes they occur together, but they are not the same thing."

CMEs are giant clouds of particles from the Sun hurled out into space, while flares are flashes of light—occurring in various wavelengths—on the Sun.

The scientists at the Space Weather Prediction Center, located in Boulder, Colorado monitor the sun and the likelihood of its effects on the earth. They monitor the sun through the use of ground-based sensors and equipment as well as satellites.

Scientists can provide between 14 and 36 hours of warning for earth-impacting sun events such as coronal mass ejections.

What Are the Effects of Coronal Mass Ejections?

CMEs impacting the earth can cause a range of effects. On the low-end, coronal mass ejections can cause little effect other than increased Northern and Southern Lights.

But on the high end, CMEs have the potential to cause significant disruptions to electronics and power grids. These effects happen when the CME overloads the power grid and electronic devices.

The most massive recorded solar storm, or CME, to hit the earth was in 1859. It is known as the Carrington Event. The Carrington Event coronal mass ejection was so colossal that people saw the Northern Lights as far south as Cuba.  Also, during the Carrington Event, telegraph lines gave off sparks large enough to cause fires. If a CME like the Carrington Event CME happened today with our grid-dependent lifestyles, life as we know it could be forever changed.

CMEs occur regularly. Fortunately, they do not usually impact the earth. We typically only hear about CMEs when they may cause problems with communications and navigation systems.

CMEs do not physically impact people. However, electronics and electrical infrastructure may be damaged.

The use of Faraday cages may help shield electronics from the effects of a CME. Unplugging electronics from your home’s power source may help as well.

The Importance of Forecasting in Weather Preparedness

The best way to accurately plan for weather-related impacts is to be informed. One way to be informed is through the use of weather.gov. Modern weather forecasting is based on numerical models. These mathematical models represent the atmosphere using physics and real observations. Forecasting accuracy is limited to between seven and ten days.

It's important to learn what you can about forecasting in ways that don't rely on the evening news. The Old Farmer’s Almanac is an excellent resource for people interested in trends related to weather preparedness. The Old Farmer’s Almanac focuses on long-term averages and trends and can help you predict a broad overview of future weather. It's important to note that any accurate daily predi...