Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are sources of the strongest geomagnetic disturbances. From sunspot minimum to sunspot maximum, the intensity of storms associated with CMEs increases but the degree of association decreases. We divide the CMEs in the last solar cycle (1996–2002) into magnetic clouds (MCs)and CMEs which are not magnetic clouds. MCs are much more geoeffective than non-MC CMEs, and the portion of CMEs which are MCs is maximum in sunspot minimum and minimum at sunspot maximum, corresponding to the net helicity transferred from the solar interior into the corona. The smaller portion of the more geoeffective MCs is the explanation of the smaller degree of association of CMEs with geomagnetic disturbances in sunspot maximum.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html