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!
An unusual storm for this time of year has swept through western and northern Finland Wednesday night, June 8 and during the early morning hours of Thursday, June 9, 2016. The storm downed trees, cut power supply to up to 14 000 households and brought about 4 cm…
A powerful tornado has swept through the northeast Hamburg late Tuesday, June 7, 2016, blowing off the roofs of buildings, uprooting more than 50 trees, damaging cars and disrupting power supply. This is just one of many severe weather events in Germany over the…
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by Geoscience Australia as M6.2 hit off the south coast of Lombok, Indonesia at 04:13 UTC on June 9, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 14 km (8.7 miles). USGS is reporting M6.2 at a depth of 29.9km (18.6 miles). EMSC…
A large sinkhole has opened up near the corner of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive in downtown Ottawa, Canada a few hours ago, June 8, 2016, causing a gas leak and shutting down the Rideau Street. At least one vehicle was swallowed by the growing hole. The Rideau…
New Zealand's Mount Ruapehu remains in a state of heightened volcanic unrest. The temperature of the summit Crater Lake has declined from 46 °C (114.8 °F), but the cooling has stopped and the temperature is rising again. Recent visits to the volcano have…
A powerful tornado has hit a beach in Venice, Italy on June 4, 2016, causing infrastructural damage and injuring two persons. The event started as a waterspout in the Chioggia marina around 06:30 UTC, before hitting a popular sandy beach, La Nuova Venezia reported….
The tropical Pacific Ocean remains in a neutral El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) state – neither El Niño nor La Niña. Sea surface temperatures across the tropical Pacific have been at neutral levels for the past four weeks, with the…
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by Geoscience Australia as M6.7 hit near the west coast of Halmahera, Indonesia at 19:15 UTC on June 7, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 51 km (31.7 miles). USGS registered it as M6.3 at a depth of 38.3 km (23.8…
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.2 hit near the coast of Mexico at 10:51 UTC on June 7, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 33 km (20.5 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.2 at a depth of 40 km (24.8 miles). According to the USGS, the…
A newly discovered asteroid 2016 LT1 will pass extremely close to Earth, between the Moon and Earth, at 20:25 UTC on June 7, 2016. This is a small asteroid discovered on June 4 by the Panstarrs survey in Hawaii. Its estimated size is about 4.2 to 9.5 meters (13.7…
