Tropical Cyclone Chido made landfall in Mozambique on Sunday, December 15, 2024, unleashing gale-force winds, cutting off communications in Pemba, and leaving 14 people dead as it moved across southern Africa, causing widespread damage and power outages.
The Icelandic Met Office (IMO) detected an earthquake swarm in Hofsjökull volcano on December 13, 2024, with the strongest quake recorded as M3.3 at a depth of 8.8 km (5.5 miles). The last eruption of the Hofsjökull volcano occurred approximately 12 000 years ago.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issued Severe to Extreme Heatwave Warnings for parts of all states and territories except Tasmania on December 14, 2024. The conditions are forecast to persist until December 17 with temperatures expected to remain elevated before a cooling trend begins on December 18.
A civil defense project to further raise earthen dams around the Svartsengi Power Plant was initiated on December 9, 2024. The effort aims to safeguard the infrastructure against future lava flows.
A rare tornado touched down in Santa Cruz County’s Scotts Valley, Northern California on Saturday, December 14, 2024, causing 5 injuries and significant damage, including flipped cars, downed power lines, and uprooted trees. This event was part of a larger weather system that also led to San Francisco’s first-ever Tornado Warning.
A severe ice storm caused dangerous travel conditions across central and eastern Iowa on December 13 and 14, 2024, leading to dozens of crashes and power outages.
San Francisco experienced its first-ever Tornado Warning on Saturday morning, December 14, 2024, issued as a powerful storm system swept through the region with heavy rain and strong winds.
Tropical Cyclone Chido made landfall over the island of Mayotte on Saturday, December 14, 2024, devastating the region as a category 4 equivalent cyclone. Reports suggest two fatalities linked to the storm with widespread damage being reported across the island.
Scientists recorded one of the top three largest glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) in global history between September 23 and October 11, 2024, when Eastern Greenland’s Catalina Lake dropped by 154 m (505 feet) and released 3.4 km³ (0.82 mi³) of water into Scoresby Fjord. This marks the first time ever that researchers have monitored such an event and measured water volumes in real-time.
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.4 hit the Chile-Argentina border region at 23:38 UTC (20:38 LT) on December 13, 2024. The agency is reporting a depth of 110 km (68 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth. CSN Chile is reporting M6.3 at a depth of 114 km (70 miles).
