A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.2 hit Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska at 18:40 UTC on December 14, 2022. The agency is reporting a depth of 83.7 km (52 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.1 at a depth of 80 km (49.7 miles).
Multiple M- and C-class solar flares were detected on December 14, 2022, with the strongest being M6.2 at 14:42 UTC. While several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were produced, none of them appears to be Earth-directed.
GeoNet experts have been busy collecting and analyzing data to help them understand exactly what happened during and following the M5.7 earthquake at Lake Taupō on November 30, 2022, including ground shaking, landslides, volcanic activity, and a tsunami.
At least 5 people have been killed and 15 others injured after an intense hailstorm hit Bolivia’s Achacacha Municipality, Omasuyos Province on December 10, 2022.
Severe thunderstorms spawned destructive tornadoes in the southern United States on December 13, 2022, leaving at least one person dead and several people missing. Severe storms with all hazards, including intense tornadoes, and heavy to excessive rain that could cause flash flooding are forecast to continue across the Deep and Middle South on December 14.
At least 141 people died in floods and landslides caused by heavy rains that hit several outlying districts of the capital Kinshasa (population 15 million), Democratic Republic of the Congo, on December 13, 2022.
The eruption at Mauna Loa that started on November 28, 2022, ended on December 13. This was the first eruption at the world’s largest active volcano since 1984 (VEI 0).
Raging floods swept through Kumluca and Finike districts of Turkey’s Antalya Province on December 12, 2022.
An observation-gas flight confirms the active vents at White Islands volcano, New Zealand are continuing to emit a minor-moderate steam and gas plume, GeoNet reported on December 12, 2022. The Volcanic Alert Level (VAL) remains at 2.
A massive storm system will impact the Central and Southern U.S. over the next few days. Widespread heavy snow with blizzard conditions and a zone of wintry mix is possible from the north-central High Plains to the Upper Midwest. Meanwhile, in the warm sector of the storm, a severe weather event with all hazards is possible in the southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley to Florida.
