On several occasions in the past, intense solar flares from the sun have disrupted broadcast signals here on Earth. Bursts of radiation from the sun have the ability to impact radio communications.
Over the next couple of days, CBC may be experiencing such outages, affecting both radio and television signals.
The electromagnetic interference from the sun is at a heightened level right now due to what is known as a "sun transit" season, which occurs around the equinoxes (these happen two times a year, around March 20 and September 22).
During these "sun transit" seasons, the sun produces high levels of microwave radiation which can overwhelm signals coming from satellite transponders.
When communications satellites travel in front of the sun for a substantial period of time over the course of several days, the signal is likely to be disrupted.
CBC is reporting that the worst of the interference is expected to happen over the next four days, roughly between 3:30 p.m. AT and 3:50 p.m. AT.
