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!
Continuous heavy rainfall in southeast Australia over the last couple of days is causing widespread disruption. Severe thunderstorms first rolled through South Australia and Victoria on September 8 and 9, producing heaviest rain in six years, and continued this…
A massive fire erupted on Tuesday, September 13, 2016, in Estrada de Alpina slum in the Brazilian most populous city of Sao Paulo. According to media reports, the fire began at 23:30 UTC (20:30 BRT) and rapidly spread taking hundreds of homes. The favela is thought…
The Sun, Earth and Moon will align in almost perfect line on September 16, 2016, treating observers in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia with a penumbral lunar eclipse. The eclipse will last 3 hours and 59 minutes and will be the last of three lunar eclipses in…
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as Mwb6.0 hit near Honiara, Solomon Islands at 07:24 UTC on September 14, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). Australia Geoscience is reporting Mwp6.2 at a depth of 30 km (18.6 miles)….
Volcanic ash produced by the eruption of Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano has reached an altitude of 7.3 km (24 000 feet) a.s.l. around 03:30 UTC on September 14, 2016, the Washington VAAC reported. Volcanic ash is not observable in satellite imagery due to…
Tropical Storm "Julia" has formed along Florida's northeast coast around 03:00 UTC on September 14, 2016. Julia is a slow-moving storm expected to produce heavy rainfall over the southeastern US this week. At 06:00 UTC on September 14 (02:00 EDT), the…
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as Mww6.0 hit northern Colombia at 01:58 UTC on September 14, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 17 km (10.5 miles). This was the country's biggest tremor in over a year. According to the USGS, the…
Super Typhoon "Meranti" is now approaching Taiwan with maximum sustained winds of 296 km/h (184 mph) and gusts to 352 km/h (218 mph). Meranti is a very dangerous storm and a heavy rain maker expected to pass with its eye just south of the southern tip…
In a new study published in Nature Geoscience yesterday, Japanese researchers have found that many of the largest earthquakes occurred near the time of maximum tidal strain — or during new and full moons when the Sun, Moon, and Earth align. The possibility…
The level of volcanic activity at New Zealand's White Island volcano has increased on September 13, 2016, with minor volcanic ash passively emitted from a vent on the 2012 lava dome. GNS has raised the Volcanic Alert Level from 1 to 3 (of 5). The Aviation Colour…
