Week 28 / 2026 | 6–12 July | SFI ~160 easing to ~135 | SSN ~95 | A 5–12 | Kp mostly 2, up to 4 mid-week | Source: NOAA SWPC
Summary
High flux persists but eases through the week. Week 28 opens with a still-strong solar flux around 160 and a quiet geomagnetic field — the best combination for good HF conditions. By the weekend the flux gradually drops to ~135 per the NOAA outlook. Right now the Sun is running even hotter (F10.7 recently around 185, an M-flare), a tail of the active previous week.
Geomagnetically it stays mostly quiet (Kp 2). Only around mid-week (Wed 8 / Thu 9 July) does NOAA expect a slightly unsettled field (Kp up to 4, A 12) — no storm, but a small dip for the upper bands.
Plus the high-summer bonus: the Sporadic-E season is at its peak in early July. Daily Es openings on 6 m and 10 m are likely, sometimes multi-hop over 2,000 km. The flip side of the short summer nights: on 160/80 m the DX window stays narrow and the thunderstorm QRN high.
Band forecast
With SFI around 150 the upper bands still carry good F2 DX by day, plus strong summer Es. The lower bands remain seasonally weak. Values are for quiet days; Wed/Thu the unsettled field mainly dampens 15–6 m.
| Band | Day | Night | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 160m | Poor | Poor | Summer lull — shortest nights, high QRN |
| 80m | Poor | Fair | EU-only in the short darkness, storm QRN |
| 40m | Fair | Good | Reliable EU/DX at dusk, NA late evening |
| 30m | Good | Good | Stable all-rounder, steady FT8/CW |
| 20m | Very good | Good | Main band — long daylight opening, worldwide DX |
| 17m | Very good | Fair | SFI carries — DX to JA, VK, NA, long into the evening |
| 15m | Good | Poor | F2 DX by day, easing slightly as flux drops |
| 12m | Good (F2 + Es) | Poor | F2 usable, plus Sporadic-E |
| 10m | Good to very good (F2 + Es) | Poor | High flux plus daily Es — loud, short openings |
| 6m | Very good (Es) | Poor | Magic band — daily Sporadic-E, multi-hop possible |
Geomagnetic forecast
Mostly quiet, with a slightly unsettled window mid-week. For Wednesday/Thursday NOAA expects Kp up to 4 (A 12) — no storm, but enough to dampen the upper bands a little; at higher latitudes a slim aurora chance on VHF. The field settles again by the weekend.
| Day | Kp expected | SFI forecast | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon, 6 Jul | 2 | ~160 | Quiet — high flux + quiet = best DX of the week |
| Tue, 7 Jul | 2 | ~155 | Quiet — upper bands still strong |
| Wed, 8 Jul | 4 | ~155 | Unsettled — small dip on 15–6 m |
| Thu, 9 Jul | 4 | ~150 | Unsettled — active field (A 12) |
| Fri, 10 Jul | 3 | ~140 | Settling — recovery, flux easing |
| Sat, 11 Jul | 2 | ~140 | Quiet — solid upper bands |
| Sun, 12 Jul | 2 | ~135 | Quiet — lower flux, good mid bands |
Recommendations for the coming week
- Use the start of the week for DX: Mon–Tue offer high flux and a quiet field — 20/17/15 m carry worldwide DX.
- 6 m stays the summer band: daily Sporadic-E. Watch beacons and FT8 (50.313 MHz); a Yagi works weaker multi-hop signals too.
- Don’t forget 10/12 m: F2 plus Es makes loud, short openings — grab them fast.
- Wed/Thu = small strategy change: at Kp 4 the upper bands sag a little; then look to 20/30 m and, at high latitudes, possible aurora.
- Lower bands = early birds: 40/80 m DX only in the narrow twilight window — the grey line is gold.
Review of Week 27
Week 27 ran hot: solar flux climbed to ~187, and at the weekend (3–4 July) a G1 storm (Kp 5, aurora level 3) brought VHF aurora at higher latitudes. As Week 28 begins the field settles, the flux stays high at first and then slowly eases — the declining leg of Cycle 25 still has plenty to say.
vy 73 and gud DX — your DX Weather desk
Transparency notice
This forecast was produced with the help of AI (Claude, Anthropic) from public space-weather data (NOAA SWPC 27-day outlook, hamqsl.com). Forecasts are inherently uncertain — actual conditions may differ. Questions or corrections? Write to us at [email protected].
