A significant winter storm is expected to produce widespread heavy snow and hazardous travel conditions across portions of the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest this weekend and into early next week.
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the BMKG as M6.5 hit Java Sea, Indonesia at 08:52 UTC (15:52 LT) on March 22, 024. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). USGS and EMSC are reporting M6.4 at a depth of 8.5 km (4.3 miles).
The volcanic eruption that started in Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland on March 16, 2024, continues at a fairly constant rate, marking the most substantial activity in the region with four registered eruptions since December 2023. This event has caught the attention of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) due to the large volumes of sulfur dioxide (SO2) released into the atmosphere.
A fissure eruption that started on Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland on March 16, 2024, continues at a fairly constant rate, with an average lava flow from the craters of about 14.5 m3 per second (512 feet3/s) from March 17 to 20. About 700 people at the Blue Lagoon spa and several in the town of Grindavík were evacuated within a 30-minute period after the start of the eruption.
New activity/unrest was reported for 4 volcanoes from March 13 to 19, 2024. During the same period, ongoing activity was reported for 18 volcanoes.
A series of potent weather systems will impact the United States over the coming days, causing a wide array of severe conditions from heavy snowfall across the northern states to thunderstorms and potential severe weather in the southern regions. Travel disruptions and severe weather warnings have been issued for affected areas.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its “State of the Global Climate 2023” report on March 19, 2024, confirming 2023 as the warmest year on record. The report is published ahead of the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial on March 21 and 22, where climate leaders and ministers from around the world will gather to push for accelerated climate action.
Heavy rainfall affecting the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on March 19, 2024, caused extreme flooding in the Duhok Governorate, leading to the deaths of at least two people and damage to dozens of homes.
Category 3 Tropical Cyclone “Megan” made landfall near Borroloola, the southwestern Gulf of Carpentaria coast, at approximately 06:00 UTC on March 18, 2024. At the time of the landfall, the system had a minimum pressure of 976.1 hPa and 1-minute sustained winds of 185 km/h (115 mph). Megan is the 5th named storm of the 2023/24 Australian region cyclone season.
Devastating wildfires have swept through Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces in southern China since March 15, 2024, claiming four lives in Yunnan and leading to significant evacuations and damage. Reports from March 18 indicate that nearly 4 900 individuals have been evacuated in Sichuan’s Yajiang County alone, with the fires ravaging over 10 000 ha (24 710 acres) of land.
