  Strong solar magnetic fields are the energy source of intense flares and
energetic coronal mass ejections of space weather importance. The key issue is
the difficulty in predicting the occurrence time and location of strong solar
eruptions, those leading to high impact space weather disturbances at the
near-Earth environment. Here, we report regular solar mapping made at X-band
(8.1 -- 9.2 GHz) with the Arecibo 12-m radio telescope. This has demonstrated
its potential for identifying active regions, about one half to a day in
advance, when they rotate on to the central meridian of the Sun, and predicting
the strongest flares and coronal mass ejections directed towards the Earth.
Results show (i) a good correlation between the temporal evolution of
brightness temperature of active regions and their magnetic configurations;
(ii) the ability of the mapping data to provide a better picture of the
formation sites of active regions and to accurately track their evolution
across the solar disk, giving forewarning of intense solar eruptions leading to
severe space weather consequences; (iii) the importance of long-term monitoring
of the Sun at X-band for understanding the complex three-dimensional evolution
of solar features as a function of solar activity. The key point in this study
is the identification of the magnetic properties of active regions on the solar
disk to aid in improving forecast strategies for extreme space-weather events.
