Environment & Science

An Allentown homeowner caught on video the moment an EF-1 tornado touched down in the city’s Midway Manor neighborhood on Monday night.

As cleanup continues from Monday’s severe weather, the Lehigh Valley will see a period of rain Thursday that could bring localized flooding to some areas.

The National Weather Service determined damages during a severe thunderstorm Monday night were from straight-line winds as high as 100 mph, but no tornadoes touched down there.

The National Weather Service rated the tornado as an EF-1 — the second-weakest on the scale. It hit the Midway Manor neighborhood of Allentown and crossed into Bethlehem briefly, according to a weather service statement.

A National Weather Service survey team confirmed a tornado touched down in Allentown’s Midway Manor neighborhood Monday night on the east side, but the twister was unwarned.

Starting at 9 a.m., officials from Princeton Hydro, a New Jersey-based engineering consultant, will treat the lake’s shoreline via airboat to tamp down invasive Phragmites, a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses.

The ordinance adjustments approved Monday night would align the township with the state model for stormwater management guidance.

Neighbors in the Midway Manor neighborhood of Allentown reported seeing a twister as the storm tore through the city's East Side on Monday night. There were no reports of serious injuries, but property damage was extensive.

A severe storm knocked out power to thousands in Lehigh County and sent Musikfest revelers searching for cover Monday night. As of 6 a.m. Tuesday, 16,000 customers have lost power.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for the Lehigh Valley and much of the Mid-Atlantic region.

A NASA robotic mission that is exploring the inner reaches of our solar system will literally ‘touch the Sun’ on Christmas Eve.

The Lehigh Valley is in a 9-inch rain shortfall. The prolonged dry spell has raised concerns about the longevity of fresh-cut Christmas trees this year. And, it's thinning out the trees planted this year to grow for future holiday seasons.

The township's Shade Tree Commission was awarded 15 trees from a statewide nonprofit dedicated to improving the tree canopy in urban areas.

Listings will include risks for flood, wildfire, wind, heat and air quality, as well as interactive maps and insurance requirements.

Highs in the 30s and lows mainly in the 20s are forecast for the weekend and well into next week, which could be jarring on the heels of one our warmest Novembers on record.

With no quick cure for the fast-moving, but slow-to-kill disease, experts said American beech trees could be functionally extinct throughout the state within 10 to 15 years.

Guidance “continues to trend towards a warmer solution for Thursday’s storm,” the National Weather Service said, meaning it's going to be a wet, not white, Thanksgiving.

Said Edward Boscola, Bethlehem water and sewer resources director: “It’s important for everybody to know that the lead levels in the city’s drinking water system are very low."

May, an immature female broad-winged hawk, migrated through Hurricane Milton in Florida last month. The hurricane made landfall Oct. 9 near Siesta Key, Fla., as a devastating Category 3 storm.

Forecasters have turned their attention to the end of next week, saying most model guidance indicates a storm system developing and affecting the East Coast — including the mid-Atlantic —around Thanksgiving Day and into Black Friday.

Spica is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo. At about 5:35 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27, grab your binoculars and watch it disappear.

The drought is far from over, but enough precipitation has fallen to boost the confidence of state officials when it comes to outdoor fires.