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!
Tropical Storm "Hermine" officially became a hurricane at 18:00 UTC on September 1, 2016, just hours before Florida landfall. This will be Florida's first hurricane landfall in almost 11 years. Life-threatening surge, tornadoes, and flooding rains are…
Earth is under continued influence of a positive polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS), which is now causing geomagnetic storms at high latitudes. K-index of 5 (G1 – Minor geomagnetic storm) threshold was reached at 08:59 UTC on September 1, 2016. …
At least 11 people have died after Typhoon "Lionrock" made landfall in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture of northern Japan on August 30, 2016. It forced 410 000 people to evacuate, caused power outages, property damage, and widespread flooding – the main cause of…
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New activity/unrest was observed at 3 volcanoes between August 24 and 30, 2016. During the same period, ongoing activity was observed at 13 volcanoes. New activity/unrest: Chikurachki, Paramushir Island (Russia) | Santa Maria, Guatemala | Sinabung, Indonesia….
European Space Agency reported today that a solar panel on its Copernicus Sentinel-1A satellite was hit by a millimetre-size (0.04 inches) space particle in orbit on August 23, 2016. Thanks to onboard cameras, ground controllers were able to identify the affected…
On Wednesday, August 31, 2016, some 24 hours before Tropical Storm "Hermine" makes landfall, Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency for 42 counties, covering all of Central Florida, except for Osceola County. Current models show…
A strong and deep earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.7 hit New Ireland region, Papua New Guinea at 03:11 UTC on August 31, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 499.1 km (310.1 miles). The epicenter was located 88.3 km (54.9 miles) NE of Rabaul (population 8…
A strong summer storm hit the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado on August 29, 2016, forcing authorities to rescue people from cars and move heaps of hail with snowplows. 61 cm (2 feet) of hail was reported in some areas. Flooding across the town created a mess many…
As of August 30, 2016, there are six active tropical cyclones across the Atlantic and Pacific ocean. In the Pacific, they are Hurricane "Madeline," Hurricane "Lester," and Tropical Storm "Lionrock." In the Atlantic, they are tropical…
Tropical Cyclone "Lionrock," born August 19, is now approaching Japan and is expected to make landfall in northern Honshu around 07:30 UTC on August 30. Its second landfall is expected in extreme southeastern Russia sometime after 18:00 UTC on August 30….
