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Severe Space Weather to Impact Earth
BILLERICA, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 15, 2000--
Intellicast.com and American Power Conversion join to help consumers
and businesses prepare for potential power disruptions triggered by
peak of solar flare activity
Mother Earth will be rocked this summer by the effects of solar
storms, which could create power problems and threaten business
computer systems, home computers, cell phones and Internet access.
The peak of the 11-year solar flare and sunspot activity cycle is
upon us and could spark geomagnetic storms, which will sweep our upper
atmosphere and disturb Earth's magnetic field. Intellicast.com and
American Power Conversion (APC) are joining to help consumers and
businesses prepare for the possible consequences, such as power surges
and blackouts, which could lead to loss of business productivity and
computer down time. Intellicast and APC will provide information on
how to protect your small business and home electronic equipment on
Intellicast.com, the online weather site for outdoor recreation
enthusiasts.
"Disruptions of satellite communications and power systems are
possible, as happened in the last peak in 1989," said Joe D'Aleo,
chief meteorologist at Intellicast.com, a global leader in real-time
weather data, imagery and weather forecast services. "Ironically,
we've become more vulnerable since then, by adding countless cell
phones, pagers, computers and satellites to our ever-growing
communications web. We want businesses and consumers to understand
there may be problems, and that some precautions can be taken."
Intellicast.com and APC, a global leader in power protection
solutions, plan a series of explanatory articles and tip sheets on
www.intellicast.com discussing the expected impact of the solar
activity and of seasonal weather problems such as lightning, summer
heat waves, hurricanes and winter-storm power outages. Links will be
provided to APC's Web site (www.apcc.com) for easy access to
information regarding power protection solutions, which include
uninteruptible power supplies (UPS), surge protectors and power
management software.
Geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) are produced when shocks
from severe magnetic storms interrupt the Earth's normally stable
magnetic field. During the last solar maximum cycle, a geomagnetic
storm on March 13, 1989 plunged the entire Hydro Quebec system,
serving over 6 million customers, into a GIC-triggered blackout. If
the Quebec disturbance had occurred under higher load conditions,
according to Intellicast's D'Aleo, cascading outages might have spread
across a region of the U.S. extending as far as Washington D.C.
"Even when blackouts don't occur, these storms can induce spikes
in power that can jeopardize equipment and computers, particularly
with the increased popularity of always-on Internet access devices and
services," said Aaron Davis, vice president of APC's Small Systems
Group. "Businesses and individual consumers can prepare now by
investigating the variety of products and services on the market that
can minimize the potential of damaged equipment or lost data."
About Intellicast.com
Intellicast.com is Weather Services International's premier online
weather site for outdoor recreation enthusiasts, including skiers,
golfers, sailors and boaters and can be found at www.intellicast.com.
The award-winning site, ranked among the top 50 for user loyalty,
attracts millions of visitors per month to consult the lifestyle
weather information, animated radar and satellite images. This data is
updated 24 hours a day, seven days a week by WSI meteorologists, who
furnish consumers with the same accurate, direct-from-the-source
weather the company provides to aviation, broadcast and energy
industry customers.
About WSI
Weather Services International (WSI Corporation), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Landmark Communications, is one of the world's largest
suppliers of real-time weather data, imagery, programming and weather
forecast services to customers in the broadcast, aviation, utilities
and government markets. More information about WSI can be found at
www.wsicorp.com.
Landmark Communications (www.landmarkcom.com) is a privately held
multi-media company with national and international interests in
newspapers, broadcasting, cable programming, interactive media and
other interests. Based in Norfolk, Va., it employs more than 5,000
people in 20 states and Europe. Landmark owns The Weather Channel
Networks, which include The Weather Channel, headquartered in Atlanta;
weather.com; El Canal del Tiempo, broadcasting to Latin America; and O
Canal do Tempo, serving Brazil. It owns CBS-TV affiliates NewsChannel
5 Network in Nashville and KLAS TV in Las Vegas; and the Travel
network based in London.
About APC
Founded in 1981, American Power Conversion (NASDAQ: APCC), a
Fortune 1000 company, is a leading provider of global, end-to-end
power protection products and services, which include surge
suppressors, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), power conditioning
equipment, related software and professional and consulting services
for Nonstop Networking(TM). APC's comprehensive solutions, designed
for home and corporate environments, improve the manageability,
availability and performance of sensitive electronic, network,
communication and industrial equipment of all sizes. Headquartered in
West Kingston, R.I., APC, reported sales of $1.337 billion for the
year ended December 31,1999. More information about APC and its global
end-to-end solutions can be found by accessing the APC World Wide Web
site at www.apcc.com or by calling 800-877-4080.
CONTACT:
Intellicast.com LNS Communications
Janet Knudsen Amy Farrell
(978) 262-0715 (617) 577-9777 x 228
jknudsen@wsicorp.com afarrell@LNScom.com
or
APC
Jodi Kennedy
401-789-5735 x2158
jkennedy@apcc.com |
