Teo Blašković founded The Watchers in 2011 and edited it until 2026, covering seismic and volcanic activity, extreme weather, space weather and near-Earth objects. Articles on this page are his archive.
A strong earthquake registered by the JMA as M6.1 hit near the coast of Hokkaido, Japan at 13:27 UTC (22:27 LT) on February 25, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 60 km (37.3 miles). The USGS is reporting M6.0 at a depth of 50.2 km (31 miles); EMSC M6.1 at a depth of 50 km (31 miles).
A long-duration M3.7 solar flare erupted from Active Region 3234 at 20:30 UTC on February 24, 2023, producing a large coronal mass ejection (CME). The event was associated with a filament eruption.
A historic winter storm is currently affecting parts of California, particularly the San Francisco Bay area, where a 132-year-old daily temperature record was broken on Friday, February 24, 2023. In addition, a rare blizzard warning is in effect for the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Bernardino. This is only the second such warning on record for the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties and the first for San Bernardino County’s peaks.
A long-lasting daylight fireball was recorded over southern California at 13:38 UTC (06:38 LT) on February 22, 2023.
A bright fireball was seen and recorded just south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at 01:08 UTC on February 23, 2023. The event lasted between 3 and 7 seconds before the object disintegrated.
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.3 hit Halmahera, Indonesia at 20:02 UTC on February 23, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 97.1 km (60 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
On February 22, 2023, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) raised the alert level of Trident Volcano to ADVISORY and the Aviation Color Code to YELLOW due to an increase in seismic activity beneath the volcano. The last eruption at this volcano was in 1974 (VEI 3).
The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) has raised the Aviation Color Code to YELLOW and the Volcano Alert Level to ADVISORY for Aniakchak volcano on February 23, 2023, following an increase in seismic activity. The last eruption at this volcano took place in 1931 (VEI 4).
MetService, the national weather agency of New Zealand, issued an Orange Warning for Heavy Rain for the Hawke’s Bay region, as a complex weather system continues to affect the country. The agency has grave concerns for vulnerable areas due to the already saturated terrain.
A very strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.8 hit Tajikistan at 00:37 UTC on February 23, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 20 km (12.4 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.
