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 "Earl" formed on August 2 in the Caribbean Sea, near Jamaica, as the fifth named tropical cyclone of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season. Earl is the fifth named storm to form in the western Caribbean (10-20°N, 90-75°W) during August…
A giant sinkhole has suddenly opened up around 19:30 local time on August 1, 2016, on the Zhengzhou Zhongyuan Road near the Cultural Palace Road in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, Henan Province. The hole was estimated to be about 30 meters long (98 feet) and 45…
A big sinkhole filled with swirling water opened today, August 2, 2016, in a backyard of a house in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, Australia. A review of historical mine maps and plans in the area was underway as part of the investigation into the possible cause. Since…
The city of Dharamsala in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh received the highest 24 hours rainfall in last 10 years on August 1 and 2, 2016. According to SkyMetWeather, the city received 207.6 mm (8.17 inches) of rain from 08:30 local time on August 1 to 08:30 on…
According to the Monsoon Preparedness Assessment 2016 carried out by Shelter Cluster Nepal, as many as 18 287 households in 14 districts of Nepal most affected by the massive M8.1 earthquake last year are living under high landslide hazard risks. The earthquake…
Tropical Storm "Howard" formed from Tropical Depression 9E on August 21, 2016, well off the west coast of Mexico. Howard is the ninth tropical cyclone to develop in 30 days in the eastern Pacific, and the eighth named storm of the 2016 eastern Pacific…
Typhoon "Nida" has made landfall in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, just north of Hong Kong late UTC Monday, August 1, 2016, with maximum sustained winds near 120 km/h (mph). This made Nida a Category 1 hurricane equivalent on the Saffir-Simpson…
A powerful tornado has swept through a town in northern Vietnam on Thursday, July 28, 2016, destroying everything in its path. The destruction was recorded by a dashcam. According to Thanh Nien News, the twister touched down on Yeng Phong District of Bac Ninh…
A strong tropical wave over the central Caribbean Sea, System 97W – centered about 440 km (275 miles) ESE of Kingston, Jamaica at 18:00 UTC, continues to move quickly westward, toward Central America, at about 32 km/h (20 mph). It has 80% chance of developing into a…
A sudden, powerful eruption occurred at Indonesia's Rinjani volcano (Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara) around 04:00 UTC on August 1, 2016. According to the Darwin VAAC, volcanic ash cloud at 04:20 UTC was observed reaching an altitude of 9.7 km (32 000 feet) a.s.l….
