Subtropical Storm "Alex" formed in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean at 21:00 UTC on January 13, 2016, and intensified into a hurricane at 15:00 UTC on January 14. The occurrence of the system during this time of the year is very unusual, as only four known…
A strong earthquake registered by JMA as M6.7 hit near the coast of Hokkaido, Japan at 03:25 UTC on January 14, 2016. The agency is reporting a depth of 50 km (31 miles). USGS is reporting M6.7 at a depth of 51.4 km (31.9 miles). According to the USGS, the epicenter…
An intense thunderstorm accompanied with strong winds and dust passed through Melbourne on January 13, 2016. The storm covered the city in a cloud of dust which lasted about 10 to 20 minutes, reducing visibility in the area. Power outages and damaged buildings have…
Karymsky volcano, Kamchatka is showing signs of elevated activity. Several explosions over the last couple of days have sent ash plumes rising to 5.5 km (18 000 feet) above the crater, the Tokyo VAAC reported. Karymsky volcano is one of the few continually active…
After 110 years of being dormant, Momotombo volcano, Nicaragua, seems to have become fairly active over the last two months. The latest eruption occurred on January 12, 2016 (local time), Volcano Discovery reported. A strong explosion at 12:10 (local time) sent an…
A new study conducted by an international team of scientists suggests a kink in the regional fault line below Nepal is responsible for the growth of the Himalaya mountains between earthquakes. The scientists have studied the devastating April 2015 Nepal (Gorkha)…
Portugal's Porto and Coimbra districts reported flooding after the rivers Douro, Mondego and Tamega overflew their banks in the period between January 10 and 11, 2016. A spell of heavy rainfall accompanied with strong winds affected the north and central parts…
At 03:00 UTC on January 12, Tropical Storm "Pali", which formed on January 8, reached hurricane strength and thus became the earliest hurricane on record in the central Pacific basin, far to the southwest of Hawaii. "After exhibiting a rather…
Heavy snowfall blanketed parts of Finland on January 12, 2016. Huge amounts of snow, blizzard conditions and cold temperatures caused traffic disruptions, closures and delays across the country. The large snowstorm that hit southern and central Finland caused…
A strong earthquake registered by JMA as M6.0 at a depth of 260 km (161 miles) hit off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan at 17:08 UTC on January 11, 2016. USGS is reporting M6.1 at a depth of 236.1 km (146.7 miles). According to the USGS, the epicenter was located 75 km…
