El Niño has strengthened significantly over the past month and is expected to intensify through the end of 2026, with NOAA forecasters warning there is now an 81% chance the climate pattern could rank among the strongest El Niño events observed since records began in 1950.
Residents across the South Carolina Midlands reported a loud boom and brief shaking late Thursday afternoon, May 28, 2026. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) later logged the event as an ‘M0.0 sonic boom’ near Saint Andrews, South Carolina.
At least 23 waterspouts were reported over western Lake Erie on September 7, 2025, with an additional four observed in surrounding areas, for a total of 27.
More than 25 waterspouts were observed over the Great Lakes between August 23 and 24, 2025. More water spouts are expected over the lakes through August 26.
A rare waterspout outbreak occurred over the Baltic Sea on August 21, 2025, producing at least 12 waterspouts off the coast of Poland and 8 off Denmark, including one sighting of eight simultaneous funnels.
A fast-moving landspout touched down near Highway 86 and Burning Tree Drive in Franktown, Colorado at around 14:30 local time (LT) on July 14, 2025, damaging three buildings and several vehicles. No injuries were reported.
A possible ball lightning event was recorded near Rich Valley, Alberta at approximately 19:00 LT on July 2, 2025, during a thunderstorm with active lightning. The luminous blue orb moved eastward with the prevailing winds for around 23 seconds before vanishing.
An extremely rare gigantic jet, powerful bolt of upward lightning, was captured from the International Space Station as it soared above a thunderstorm over northern Mexico and the U.S. Southwest on July 3, 2025. The striking image, taken by NASA astronaut Nichole Vapor Ayers, shows the jet piercing into the ionosphere, offering a rare glimpse of one of Earth’s most elusive atmospheric phenomena.
A rare landspout outbreak occurred in the United Arab Emirates on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 23, 2024, leading to multiple landspouts forming between Kadra in Ras Al Khaimah and Al Khudaira in Sharjah.
A waterspout was observed over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour at 12:30 PM local time on Saturday, September 28, 2024, according to the Hong Kong Observatory. This marks the first recorded occurrence of a waterspout in the harbour since records began in 1959.
