Spotless Sun....Spotty Showers Soak Many Spots.

We have a screen saver on one of our computers in the Channel 3 Storm Alert Center that updates images of the sun and tracks sunspots. Paul put in on there a couple of years ago, and ever since then you would see quite a bit of sunspot activity. Until recently. Above is the image from yesterday, and as you can see the face of the sun is as spotless as you are going to see. Today there are two sunspots developing, but the fact is the sun is going into the solar minimum of the 11 year sunspot cycle. There's no connection between sunspot cycles and weather patterns here on planet Earth, but there is a whole branch of science devoted to space weather. And forecasting even the waxing and waning of an 11-year cycle is challenging. Here is Dr. Daniel Mueller's (SOHO Deputy Project Scientist) response to my question about the sun's recent clear complexion:

"Dear Thom, you're right, the relative absence of sunspots indeed indicates that we are close to solar minimum, i.e. the end of the current sunspot cycle. However, predicting the exact time when the next cycle will start is a very challenging problem, and solar physicists are working hard on improvements of different prediction techniques. The conditions in the near-Earth environment (where e.g. telecommunications satellites reside) change indeed with solar activity. (That's what we call "space weather")."

Sunspots, solar flares, and magnetic storms on the sun are truly fascinating events and I'm glad there are tools available for us to see them on the internet. For more information check out this link:
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/

We will be tracking some spotty showers and storms today that will become more widespread tomorrow and Saturday. And the average rainfall amounts may end up at or slightly more than 1 inch across the area. Looks like we will end this 10 day stretch of 95 degree (or hotter) heat as well. (Or will this end up as an 11 day cycle?)

Today: Partly cloudy with a 40% chance for storms this afternoon. High: 94

Tonight: Mostly cloudy with a few spotty showers possible overnight. Low: 74

Friday: Showers and storms likely from afternoon into Friday night. High: 89

Saturday: Scattered showers and storms early. High: 87

Sunday: Partly cloudy with a slight chance for an isolated storm south of Chattanooga. High: 89

Monday: Mostly sunny and warm. High: 92