I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
At least 12 people were killed and at 5 others were injured when a slope collapsed at an open-pit gold-mining site in the Puerto Rico area of Policarpa, Nariño, Colombia, on August 19, 2026. Community members and firefighters conducted the search with support from two excavators, and the operation ended at about 02:00 local time (LT) on August 20.
A confirmed tornado moved through Dover, Delaware, on August 20, 2026, prompting a Particularly Dangerous Situation warning and a city State of Emergency. The tornado damaged buildings, downed trees, flooded roads and disrupted power in Dover, while severe storms in Pennsylvania injured 1 person, displaced at least 13 residents and damaged Eastern York High School and buildings in Columbia.
More than 100 people were reported dead after a landslide and collapse at an artisanal gold-mining site in Zamboye, Nana-Mambéré prefecture, western Central African Republic, on August 18, 2026. Recovery operations continued on August 20, with several survivors critically injured and an unknown number of people remaining beneath the debris.
A landslide struck a railway construction site in Nandan County, Hechi City, Guangxi, China, at about 11:26 LT (03:26 UTC) on August 17, 2026, burying five workers. All five were confirmed dead after search operations ended on August 19.
Heavy rain triggered two geological disasters in Sichuan Province, China, between August 18 and 19, 2026, disrupting National Highway G350 and prompting the pre-emptive evacuation of 21 784 people from risk areas across 64 counties. In a separate rain-related structural accident in Changning County on August 18, a rooftop parapet wall collapsed during a university-admission banquet, killing 5 people and injuring 17.
Miami tied its all-time temperature record at 37.8°C (100°F) on August 18, 2026, the first time the city had reached that level since July 21, 1942. Fort Lauderdale also reached 36.7°C (98°F), tying its August 18 daily record, as Heat Advisories remained in effect across South Florida.
A suspected lightning strike triggered a fire involving three natural gasoline storage tanks at the Explorer Pipeline facility in Glenpool, Oklahoma, at approximately 08:33 CDT (13:33 UTC) on August 17, 2026, prompting evacuations and shelter measures around the site. No injuries were reported. Officials said the fire was no longer actively burning by 20:30 CDT (01:30 UTC on August 18), and the response transitioned to cleanup and recovery on August 18.
Officials confirmed one death linked to Hurricane Lala as Hawaii remained in recovery on August 18, 2026, after the storm caused severe flooding, landslides, and widespread infrastructure damage. More than 100 homes were reported damaged or destroyed on Hawaiʻi Island, while Hawaiian Electric reported 88 670 customers without power across its service territory at 18:00 HST on August 17 (04:00 UTC on August 18).
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) has raised the probability of a very strong El Niño during late 2026, increasing the likelihood of characteristic El Niño impacts across the United States during winter 2026–27. Current seasonal guidance favors wetter-than-normal conditions across much of the southern tier and drier conditions across parts of the Northwest and northern United States, while above-normal temperatures are favored across much of the West, northern tier and parts of the East.
The probability of a very strong El Niño during October–December rose from 81% in CPC’s July assessment to 95% in August, with a 69% chance that the Relative Oceanic Niño Index (RONI) will reach at least +2.5°C (+4.5°F), a level that would exceed previous El Niño events in NOAA’s record dating to 1950. The strength and location of tropical Pacific warming and convection will influence how closely winter 2026–27 follows established El Niño patterns.
Tropical Storm Lala is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane by August 15, 2026, as it approaches Hawaiʻi, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Hawaiʻi Island, and the governor issued an emergency proclamation on August 13 as state and local authorities prepared for worsening wind, rainfall, and coastal conditions.
