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.
Eruptive column produced by the massive eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano in Tonga at 04:10 UTC on January 15, 2022, likely reached a height of about 30 km (98 500 feet) above sea level. The data is coming from Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite…
A major winter storm affecting the eastern United States spawned multiple tornadoes in southwestern Florida on Sunday, January 16, 2022, destroying at least 28 homes and damaging others. In addition, at least 7 000 homes were left without power in Lee and Collier…
Heavy snow and ice accumulations are likely to produce hazardous travel, downed trees, and power outages from the Mid-South to the Northeast, U.S. The heaviest snow is expected along and just west of the Appalachians, and the most damaging icing is likely across…
A deep earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.1 hit west of Panguna, Papua New Guinea at 12:52 UTC on January 16, 2022. The agency is reporting a depth of 408 km (253 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth. The epicenter was located about 75 km (46…
A massive eruption took place at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano in Tonga at 04:10 UTC on January 15, 2022, producing a huge shockwave and a 1.2 m (4 feet) high tsunami. The eruptive cloud is reaching an altitude of at least 15.2 km (50 000 feet) above sea…
China is stockpiling food at historically high levels and now has more than half of the world's maize and other grains. By mid-2022, the country is estimated to hold 69% of the world’s corn reserves, 60% of rice, and 51% of wheat. At the end of 2021,…
A strong earthquake registered by the BMKG as M6.7 hit Sunda Strait, Indonesia at 09:05 UTC on January 14, 2022. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). The USGS is reporting M6.6 at a depth of 37.2 km (23.1 miles); EMSC M6.6 at a depth of 60 km (37…
Another high-level eruption started at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano in Tonga at 15:20 UTC on January 13, 2022. A plume of gas and ash rose rapidly to an estimated height of 16.7 km (55 000 feet) above sea level by 17:42 UTC, according to the Wellington…
New activity/unrest was reported for 5 volcanoes from January 5 to 11, 2022. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 14 volcanoes. New activity/unrest: Karangetang, Siau Island (Indonesia) | Krysuvik-Trolladyngja, Iceland | Piton de la Fournaise,…
A strong, quick-hitting winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow and gusty winds to the Northern Plains into the Upper and Mid-Mississippi Valley, U.S. that may cause some hazardous travel beginning Thursday night, January 13, 2022, through Friday night. The…
