I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
Heavy rain, snow, and ice blanketed portions of the interior Northeast and New England on Friday and Saturday, March 22 and 23, 2024, causing widespread power outages, traffic chaos, and flight delays and cancellations.
Intense rainfall and hailstorms struck western Cuba on March 22, 2024, causing widespread damage, including downed trees, power outages, and flash floods. The National Electricity Union reported over 260 000 users without electricity in provinces such as Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, Mayabeque, Matanzas, and Havana.
Officials in Papua New Guinea are reporting at least 5 fatalities and approximately 1 000 homes destroyed following a shallow M6.9 earthquake at 20:22 UTC on March 23, 2024 (06:22 LT on March 24) in the East Sepik Province. The quake hit at a time when many parts of the country were dealing with severe flooding.
Coronal mass ejection (CME) produced by the X1.1 solar flare at 01:33 UTC on March 23, 2024, is expected to impact Earth late March 24 or early March 25, producing G2 – Moderate to G3 – Strong geomagnetic storming.
Heavy rains in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state on March 22, 2024, resulted in at least nine fatalities, with Petropolis being the hardest hit. A staggering 270 mm (11 inches) of rain fell within 24 hours, significantly impacting the region and leading to numerous incidents, including landslides and house collapses. The storm then moved to the neighboring state of Espírito Santo, dropping more than 200 mm (7.8 inches) of rainfall within 24 hours.
A very strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.9 hit New Guinea, Papua New Guinea at 20:22 UTC on March 23, 2024 (07:22 LT, March 24). The agency is reporting a depth of 35.4 km (21.9 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.8 at a depth of 50 km (31 miles).
A major, long-duration solar flare measuring X1.1 erupted from Active Region 3614 at 01:33 UTC on March 23, 2024. The event started at 00:58 and ended at 02:21 UTC. A halo CME was produced, with impacts to Earth likely late March 25 or early March 26.
In a stellar event anticipated to occur between now and September 2024, the T Coronae Borealis (T CrB) star system, located 3 000 light-years away, is predicted to undergo a nova outburst, becoming visible to the unaided eye. This rare occurrence, last witnessed in 1946, will temporarily elevate the system’s brightness to match that of the North Star, offering a unique viewing opportunity.
A significant winter storm is expected to produce widespread heavy snow and hazardous travel conditions across portions of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest this weekend and into early next week.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the BMKG as M6.5 hit Java Sea, Indonesia at 08:52 UTC (15:52 LT) on March 22, 024. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). USGS and EMSC are reporting M6.4 at a depth of 8.5 km (4.3 miles).
