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!
Northern regions of Scandinavia were treated to a very rare high-altitude spectacle on January 17, 2022, photographer Adrien Mauduit reports. For about 2 hours, rare polar stratospheric clouds (PSC) type II appeared out of nowhere, displaying a staggering…
More than 549 cities in Brazil are now under a state of emergency due to severe floods affecting the country over the past couple of weeks. Dozens of people have been killed and more than 133 000 forced to evacuate their homes. In addition, 200 cities in the state…
The City and Borough of Yakutat in Alaska, U.S. has declared a local disaster emergency on January 11, 2022, after accumulating approximately 1.5 – 1.8 m (5 – 6 feet) of snow over the last several weeks. Yakutat is isolated and off the road system, and all local…
An estimated 743 000 households in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires lost power on January 11, 2022, as temperatures soared above 40 °C (104 °F), causing peak energy consumption to cool the homes. The outage has also affected the water purification…
New sunspot counts from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirm that Solar Cycle 25 sunspot numbers have now exceeded predictions for 15 straight months. Consequently, the geomagnetic activity is ramping up while cosmic rays reaching Earth are…
Tropical Cyclone "Cody" formed on January 10, 2022, near Fiji as the second named storm of the 2021/22 South Pacific Ocean cyclone season. Cody's center passed south of the island without making landfall, but strong winds and prolonged heavy rains…
A loud boom over the skies of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania on January 1, 2022, was caused by a meteor exploding with the blast energy equivalent to 30 tons of TNT. The event took place around 16:20 UTC (11:30 EST) but was not observable from the ground due to clouds….
A major snowstorm stranded hundreds of drivers along a 65 km (40 miles) stretch of Interstate 95 in Virginia on Monday and Tuesday, January 3 and 4, 2022. The gridlock was cleared on Tuesday evening when both northbound and southbound lanes were opened. VDOT said…
A popular Egyptian all-year-round resort in Hurghada was hit by a rare hailstorm on Saturday, January 1, 2022, surprising tourists on the beaches and breaking roofs and windows. Some of the stones were as large as 3 cm (1.2 inches). Schools in the area were ordered…
Winter storm "Carmel" made landfall over Israel on Monday, December 20, 2021, bringing record rains, snow, and strong winds. This is the 3rd winter storm named by the newly formed East Mediterranean Storm Naming Group, composed of Greece, Cyprus, and…
