Environment & Science

Utilities reported thousands of customers without power early Friday in the Lehigh Valley after severe weather swept through the region Thursday night, and forecasters say another round of storms is on the way.

The storms on Thursday took out power across PPL's entire service area, spanning central and eastern Pennsylvania.

As the Lehigh Valley and beyond face extreme weather, officials shared weatherization techniques and options to make homes more energy efficient through federal funding.

A colony with tens of thousands of honeybees was removed Wednesday from beneath the roof of the government building. The honeybee population is shrinking. James Zdepski is looking to change that.

The dry, scorching start to September will slowly begin to ease on Thursday as severe weather takes aim at the Lehigh Valley.

Relief from the brutal heat and humidity has been pushed to later in the week, forecasters say. Wednesday's temperatures will climb into the 90s with heat indexes inching past 100 degrees.

A Red Cross volunteer from the greater Lehigh Valley just got back from assisting displaced people in Hawaii following devastating wildfires there. Her job was to try and reconnect families.

Olivia Teel became the city’s forester in June. A native of the Lehigh Valley, who also studied environmental science at a local university, Teel’s devotion to the environment extends past working hours.

The Lehigh Valley's public pools will all be closed come Labor Day, rounding out a rather unusual August. But with blazing temperatures coming up at the beginning of September, it's vital to keep an eye out for heat exhaustion.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

The Walking Purchase, a 1737 land grab perpetrated by William Penn's sons, shaped the Lehigh Valley as residents know it today. But, the land wasn’t actually purchased, as the name might suggest — it was swindled from the Lenni-Lenape.

On Watching the Skies, WLVR's Brad Klein and Bethlehem's "Backyard Astronomy Guy" Marty McGuire talk about possible signs of life on Mars, as seen by NASA's Perseverance rover.

More than 130 people attended the panel, which focused on efforts across the state to tamp down on light pollution, not only to benefit star-gazers, but for fireflies and migrating birds, too.

Twenty-seven city restaurants and eateries have so far responded to a single-use plastics survey.

As the system moves off the Carolina coast and begins to strengthen and lift northward, impacts farther inland — particularly in the Lehigh Valley — are not expected to be overly hazardous.

Martin Guitar welcomed guests from across the music industry to talk about protecting the environment at its first Sustainability Summit on Thursday.

Veronika Vostinak, Allentown's sustainability coordinator, on Wednesday gave a hourlong presentation to the Lehigh Valley Environmental Advisory Council Network on her experience with plastic reduction efforts, targeting single-use foodwares and reusables for dine-in.

While a full report is expected next year, researchers behind Lehigh Valley Breathes have released a data analysis, which includes three comparisons looking at fine particulate pollution across eight monitoring locations.

The Environmental Advisory Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to send City Council a letter stating the EAC’s intent to work on a dark skies ordinance and urging city officials to consider collaborating, then adopting it when the time comes.

A reinforcing cold front has triggered a freeze watch in the Lehigh Valley from Thursday evening through Friday morning, bringing our coldest overnight temperatures since mid-April.

State environmental officials are calling on residents to nominate their favorite waterway to be 2026 River of the Year. The effort aims to elevate public awareness of specific rivers and recognize important conservation needs and achievements.

Between changes in federal policy and an unprecedented demand for energy, it's a tough time for sustainability. An hour-long panel Monday with industry experts focused on how to address those changes.