[Ips-dsgr] ASWFC Daily Report - 15 February 26 issued 2330 UT on 15 Feb 2026 [SEC=OFFICIAL]

Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre aswfc at bom.gov.au
Mon Feb 16 10:30:48 AEDT 2026


SUBJ: ASWFC DAILY SOLAR AND GEOPHYSICAL REPORT
ISSUED AT 2330UT/15 FEBRUARY 2026
FROM THE AUSTRALIAN SPACE WEATHER FORECASTING CENTRE
SUMMARY FOR 15 FEBRUARY AND FORECAST FOR 16 FEBRUARY - 18 FEBRUARY
STATUS INDICATORS SOL:GREEN   MAG:GREEN     ION: GREEN
ASWAS SCALE DESCRIPTION: https://bit.ly/3lmaMBx
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1A. SOLAR SUMMARY
Activity 15 Feb:  R0

Flares: none.

Observed 10.7 cm flux/Equivalent Sunspot Number for 15 Feb: 118/70


1B. SOLAR FORECAST
             16 Feb             17 Feb             18 Feb
Activity     R0                 R0                 R0
Fadeouts     None expected      None expected      None expected
10.7cm/SSN   115/66             115/66             110/60

COMMENT: Solar flare activity on UT day 15-Feb was at the R0 
level, with no flares above C2.0 in magnitude. There are currently 
five numbered sunspot regions visible on the solar disk. All 
sunspot regions are small, magnetically simple and appear stable. 
Solar flare activity is expected to be at the R0 level over 16-18 
Feb. S0 solar proton conditions were observed on UT day 15-Feb. 
S0 solar proton conditions are expected over 16-18 Feb. No Earth-directed 
coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed on UT day 15-Feb. 
The solar wind speed increased on 15-Feb, mostly ranging between 
480 to 750 km/s. The wind speed is currently at around 620 km/s. 
The peak total interplanetary magnetic field strength (IMF, Bt) 
was 13 nT and the north-south IMF component (Bz) range was -11 
to +10 nT. The solar wind speed is expected to mostly remain 
at current levels over 16-17 Feb with a decline possible from 
late on 17-Feb to 18-Feb.

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2A. MAGNETIC SUMMARY

Geomagnetic field for Australian Region 15 Feb: G0

Estimated Indices 15 Feb : A   K           
   Australian Region      11   34222322
      Cocos Island         7   33221220
      Darwin              14   44222323
      Townsville          12   34232322
      Learmonth           15   44232422
      Alice Springs       12   34232322
      Gingin              14   44232322
      Canberra            11   34222322
      Kennaook Cape Grim  12   34223322
      Hobart              13   34323232    

Estimated Antarctic Regional K Indices 15 Feb :
      Macquarie Island    26   46233531
      Casey               28   45643322
      Mawson              48   57644344

Observed Regional daily pc3 Indices 15 Feb : 
      Darwin               0   (Quiet)
      Townsville           0   (Quiet)
      Learmonth            0   (Quiet)
      Alice Springs        0   (Quiet)
      Gingin               0   (Quiet)
      Canberra            20   (Quiet)
      Hobart              41   (Unsettled)

Pc3 pulsations are high frequency (10-45 second period) variations 
of the Earths magnetic field. Daily pc3-indices are the daily sum 
of 20 minute pc3-indices for that station and have been shown to be
well correlated with rejection of high resolution aeromagnetic
survey flight-line data. 

NOTE: Indices may have been generated from data obtained in 
cooperation with the following organisations: Geoscience Australia, 
University of Newcastle Space Physics Group, Australian Government 
Antarctic Division and International Center for Space Weather 
Science and Education, Japan.


Estimated AFr/Ap Indices 15 Feb : A 
           Fredericksburg        23
           Planetary             28                         

Observed AFr/Ap Indices 14 Feb :  A   K
           Fredericksburg         8
           Planetary             11   3300 1134     


2B. MAGNETIC FORECAST 
Date      Ap    Conditions
16 Feb    12    G0
17 Feb     8    G0
18 Feb     5    G0

COMMENT: G0 geomagnetic conditions were observed in the Australian 
region on UT day 15-Feb. G1 conditions were observed at the planetary 
level in the first two periods of the UT day. Mostly G2 geomagnetic 
conditions were observed in the Antarctic region, with a period 
of G3 observed at Mawson. G0 geomagnetic conditions are expected 
over 16-18 Feb.

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3A. GLOBAL HF PROPAGATION SUMMARY
	            Latitude Band
Date        Low            Middle         High 
15 Feb      Normal         Normal         Normal-fair    

PCA Event : No event.

3B. GLOBAL HF PROPAGATION FORECAST
	            Latitude Band
Date        Low            Middle         High 
16 Feb      Normal         Normal         Normal-fair
17 Feb      Normal         Normal         Normal-fair
18 Feb      Normal         Normal         Normal

COMMENT: Global ionospheric conditions were mostly normal on 
UT day 15-Feb, with fair conditions observed at mid and high 
latitudes particularly at the beginning and end of the UT day. 
Mostly normal HF conditions are expected over 16-18 Feb. Mild 
degradations are possible on 16-Feb due to recent geomagnetic 
activity.

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4A. AUSTRALIAN REGION IONOSPHERIC SUMMARY


Date   T index
15 Feb    93

Observed Australian Regional MUFs
   Cocos Island Region:
      Near predicted monthly values during local day.
      Depressed by 15% during local night.
   Niue Island Region:
      Enhanced by 20% during local day.
      Enhanced by 35% during local night.
   Northern Australian Region:
      Near predicted monthly values.
   Southern Australian Region:
      Near predicted monthly values during local day.
      Depressed by 15% during local night.
   Antarctic Region (Casey/Davis/Mawson):
      Near predicted monthly values over the UT day.

Monthly T index:
Month  T index
Jan      96
Feb      88
Mar      87

4B. AUSTRALIAN REGION IONOSPHERIC FORECAST
Date   T index  MUFs
16 Feb    90    Near predicted monthly values
17 Feb    90    Near predicted monthly values
18 Feb    90    Near predicted monthly values

COMMENT: Maximum Usable Frequencies (MUFs) in the Australian 
region were mostly near predicted monthly values on UT day 15-Feb. 
Depressions of up to 15% were observed in the southern Australian 
region during local night due to recent geomagnetic activity. 
Spread F was observed at Hobart during local night hours. Sporadic 
E was observed in the southern Australian region, mostly during 
local night hours. MUFs are expected to be near predicted monthly 
values over 16-18 Feb, with a chance of mild depressions in the 
southern Australian region on 16-Feb due to recent geomagnetic 
activity. Sporadic E is likely during local night hours in the 
southern Australian region.

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5. SPACE ENVIRONMENT SUMMARY

GOES satellite data for 14 Feb
       Daily Proton Fluence >1 MeV:   2.7E+06
       Daily Proton Fluence >10 MeV:  1.5E+04
       Daily Electron Fluence >2 MeV: 2.30E+07   (normal fluence)
Electron Fluence Daily Deep Dielectric Discharge Probability: 4%
Fluence (flux accumulation over 24hrs)/ cm2-ster-day.
       X-ray background: B4.4

DSCOVR Satellite Solar Wind Day Averaged Data for 14 Feb
Speed: 441 km/sec  Density:    1.1 p/cc  Temp:   168000 K  Bz:   2 nT

(Courtesy Space Weather Prediction Center, Boulder USA)
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Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre
Bureau of Meteorology
ASWFC at bom.gov.au
www.bom.gov.au | www.sws.bom.gov.au



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