• Weak La Niña supports wet north-dry south pattern across the western U.S. through March 2026

    Experimental seasonal forecasts from the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes (CW3E) suggest that a weak La Niña is reinforcing a wet–north, dry–south precipitation pattern across the western United States during January–March 2026. The outlook shows high-confidence signals for below-normal precipitation in Southern California, while model uncertainty remains higher across central and northern California.

  • Strong and shallow M6.0 earthquake hits off the coast of Oregon

    A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.0 struck off the coast of Oregon, United States, at 03:25 UTC on January 16, 2026 (19:25 LT, January 15). The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). EMSC is reporting the same magnitude and depth.

  • HVO reports increased earthquake activity beneath Halemaʻumaʻu, first notable summit unrest since December 2024

    A series of three small earthquake swarms occurred beneath Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii, between January 13 and 14, 2026, marking the most notable shallow seismic unrest since the eruption’s onset in December 2024. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) reports all events were below magnitude 2 and located 1.5–4 km (0.9–2.5 miles) beneath the surface. The activity follows the high fountain eruption of episode 40 on January 12, which produced 5.5 million m³ (7.2 million yd³) of lava within less than 10 hours.

  • Freeze warnings issued across Florida Panhandle and parts of the southeast U.S.

    Freeze warnings are in effect across the Florida Panhandle, northern and central counties, and parts of southeast Georgia from 23:00 EST Thursday, January 15, 2026, through 09:00 EST Friday, January 16. Temperatures are forecast to drop as low as −6°C (22°F) in inland areas, producing frost capable of damaging unprotected crops and causing water pipes to freeze and burst.

  • Red Flag Warning and High Wind Watches issued across central U.S. as strong northwesterly winds develop

    Strong northwesterly winds and very low humidity will bring critical fire weather conditions across eastern Colorado and western Kansas on Thursday, January 15, 2026, prompting the National Weather Service in Goodland to issue a Red Flag Warning and Fire Weather Watch. At the same time, high wind watches have been issued across the northern and central Great Plains, with gusts up to 120 km/h (75 mph) expected Thursday through Friday, January 16.