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!
The PVMBG has raised the volcanic alert level of Mount Bromo from Level II (Alert) to Level III (Standby) at 11:00 UTC on September 26, 2016, and established a danger zone 2.5 km (1.5 miles) around the active crater. Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation…
High-speed solar wind from a recurrent coronal hole has sparked another round of geomagnetic storming on Earth. The solar wind environment is expected to remain elevated but steady through the rest of the UTC day before becoming further enhanced on September 28 and…
Typhoon "Megi" has made its first landfall around the city of Hualien in Taiwan just before 05:00 UTC on September 27, 2016 (13:00 CST), bringing powerful winds and very heavy rain. It is expected to make its second landfall around 00:00 UTC on September…
Between 11:03 UTC on September 26 and 06:03 UTC on September 27, 2016, USGS registered a total of 143 earthquakes in a remote desert area around the Salton Sea in California. Three of them had magnitudes above 4. The largest was a shallow M4.3 at 14:31 UTC on…
Astronomers have again imaged what may be water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, bolstering other observations suggesting the icy moon erupts with high altitude water plumes. The observation increases the possibility that missions…
A very bright flash followed by a sonic boom was reported across central Queensland, Australia around 10:27 UTC (20:27 AEST) on September 26, 2016. Many witnesses said the bright light was followed by a tremor, leading media and public to speculate whether it was a…
About 1 000 people have been evacuated on Saturday, September 24, 2016, in the New South Wales town of Forbes as the Lachlan River rose to record levels. The river peaked at 10.67 m (35 feet) between 21:00 and 22:00 local time on Sunday, September 25. It is the…
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said it is monitoring a complex weather system that has the potential to bring more rain, thunderstorms, winds and damaging waves to southeastern Australia starting Wednesday, September 28, 2016. BOM's National…
Heavy rains in China's Yunnan Province have triggered a large landslide in a village in Dayao Country on Thursday, September 22, 2016. The slide has torn down the buildings of the village committee, a village clinic, a primary school and 44 other residences,…
Days of heavy rain have caused major flooding in parts of the US Midwest over the weekend, leaving at least two people dead. The governors of Iowa and Wisconsin have declared a state of emergency. NWS said that the 7 day period to September 23 saw rainfall levels in…
