The Watchers team and our contributors bring the latest on extreme weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, space weather, and all things science. We're all about making sense of the natural world and keeping you informed on what’s happening. Got a tip or a question? Hit us up using the form at newstips!
These 4K visualizations show the Moon's phases and libration at hourly intervals throughout 2017, as viewed from both hemispheres. In addition, they show the Moon's orbit position, sub-Earth and subsolar points, distance from the Earth at true scale, and…
Two forces of nature have combined on December 28, 2016, and brought us a rare view of a bright meteor streaking seemingly low over the erupting Turrialba volcano in Costa Rica. The event occurred at 04:22 UTC on December 28 (22:22 local time on December 27),…
Severe flash flooding hit the city of Boma, Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday, leaving at least 50 people dead and 10 000 homeless, authorities said Thursday, December 29, 2016. Heavy rains started on December 23 and drastically increased on the 24th and 25th,…
Heavy snowfall, rains, and cold weather started affecting Turkey last week, resulting in at least 7 deaths by December 30, 2016. The severe weather came as a surprise to many citizens, especially those living in the city of Antalya which saw its first snowfall in…
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.2 hit Indonesian Sumbawa Region at 22:30 UTC on December 29, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 72.3 km (44.9 miles). According to the USGS, the epicenter was located 33.6 km (20.9 miles) S of Tolotangga…
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New activity was reported for 5 volcanoes between December 21 and 27, 2016. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 8 volcanoes. New activity/unrest: Bezymianny, Central Kamchatka (Russia) | Bogoslof, Fox Islands (USA) | Ebeko, Paramushir Island…
A violent low pressure system brought heavy rain to Melbourne and other parts of Victoria, Australia on December 29, 2016, causing flash flooding and havoc across the region. The storm hit around 15:00 local time, after a hot and humid summer day and one of the…
Bulusan volcano generated a phreatic eruption at 06:40 UTC (14:40 PHT) on December 29, 2016. The eruption sent volcanic ash plume up to 3.6 km (12 000 feet) above sea level, the Tokyo VAAC reported at 07:41 UTC. The event was recorded as an explosion-type earthquake…
A powerful, fast-moving winter storm is expected to bring significant snowfall, rain and strong winds to portions of the US Northeast and Atlantic Canada on Thursday and Friday, December 29 and 30, 2016. The storm is expected to undergo a rapid strengthening within…
Three magnitude 5.5 to 5.7 earthquakes struck about 28 km (18 miles) southwest of Hawthorne, Nevada just after midnight local time (08:18 UTC) on Wednesday, December 28, 2016, the Nevada Seismological Laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno reported. Reports so…
