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!
According to Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), an early melt event over the Greenland ice sheet occurred this week, smashing by a month the previous records of more than 10% of the ice sheet melting. The melt was driven by warm air advected from the SW bringing…
The planet Venus presents many unresolved mysteries to planetary scientists. However, equally mysterious is Venus' extraordinary role in the world's ancient astronomies. In this Space News episode, we explore the remarkable electrical environment of Venus…
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center began testing Heliopause Electrostatic Rapid Transit System (HERTS) E-Sail, a concept for a potentially revolutionary propulsion system that could send spacecraft to the edge of our solar system, the heliopause, faster than…
We know that lightning in storm clouds forms when ice particles collide with each other and become electrified, but the process of how lightning forms in volcanic plumes is less clear. Now, two new studies are unraveling some of the mysteries involved. Understanding…
A severe hailstorm hit parts of Texas Monday night, April 11, 2016, causing extensive damage to homes and cars. Hailstones up to 10.8 cm (4.25 inches) were reported in Wylie, northeast of Dallas. This region was hit by very large hail just a couple of weeks ago….
Two massive icebergs broke off the Antarctic coastline over the weekend, threatening valuable scientific equipment deployed by New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA). NIWA scientists have been monitoring satellite images of the…
After a period of heavy rains, about 200 million metric tons of rock tumbled down a remote Southeast Alaska mountain. The massive landslide, lasting about 60 seconds, occurred on October 17, 2015, and landed on the toe of Tyndall Glacier and into Taan Fiord in Icy…
For the first time ever, an image has been captured of an elusive electrical phenomenon above the Earth. An astronaut aboard the International Space Station imaged a kind of electrical discharge in the upper atmosphere known as a blue jet. In this Space News,…
Four days of heavy rains in northern provinces of Argentina have caused several rivers to overflow and prompted the evacuation of thousands of people. One man is reported to have died after drowning in a swollen river. Heavy rains started on April 4 and intensified…
A deep depression dumped heavy rain on northern parts of Oman on April 8, 2016, claiming lives of two people and causing widespread flood damage. "Despite repeated warnings by Omani authorities, two Omanis were killed when their vehicle was swept away by flood…
