Environment & Science

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 mud-colored salamander–also known as a snot otter, mud devil, and Allegheny alligator–can grow to be two feet long, and can live up to 30 years.

This year's Bake Oven Knob Autumn Hawk Watch has so far recorded more than 1,000 migrating birds of prey, not including the dozens logged Thursday morning.

How much snow is coming this winter? Model ensembles and long-range outlooks are starting to yield some clues.

Officials at Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center on Wednesday held their annual "Monarch Madness" tagging event. Four male and two female monarchs were tagged.

Just days away from the official start of fall, forecasters say the Lehigh Valley will see a long stretch of dry weather and seasonal temperatures ahead.

Residents can anticipate a flood watch in effect for a significant portion of the area Tuesday night and throughout Wednesday, as heavy rainfall from showers and thunderstorms is expected.

Leaf-peeper season is right around the corner. Here's when to be on the lookout for pops of brilliant yellows, oranges and reds across the landscape.

Kathleen Covalt, who teaches online classes through Northampton Community College for adults interested in learning about unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs, said there's hope for future disclosures.

A stalled front will take a parting shot at the Lehigh Valley on Monday, bringing additional showers, thunderstorms and possible downpours, forecasters say.

This week on Watching the Skies, WLVR's Brad Klein and Bethlehem's Backyard Astronomy Guy Marty McGuire talk about the upcoming new moon, just in time for Halloween.

Lehigh and Northampton counties and surrounding areas ripe for easy-starting potential fire situations.

PennEnvironment's 2024 “Renewables on the Rise” report ranks every state for the production of wind energy, solar power, energy storage and other metrics over the last decade, tracking growth.

Plainfield Township supervisors voted to consider a zoning change that would pave the way for the Grand Central Landfill to expand. It's the first of many, many steps in the process.

Covering 187 acres in Salisbury and Upper Saucon townships, the sanctuary has seven different trails, and is the conservancy’s ninth nature preserve in the Lehigh Valley.

The plan, estimated to cost more than $300 million over the next decade, seeks to overhaul and upgrade aging water and wastewater infrastructure across more than a dozen Lehigh County municipalities.

“It will feel more like a mid-to-late August day, with highs in the low to mid 80s under clear skies,” the weather service said in its latest forecast discussion, noting records could fall for climate stations across the region.

The Bethlehem Area School District is getting $2 million in federal rebates to buy 10 more electric school buses. Officials expect the buses to be in service next school year.

This week is a good one to spot the planets that are visible in the night sky, both in evenings and early mornings.

EPAWA meteorologist Bobby Martrich said, “While the milder outlooks that are out there have merit and support, it’s not as cut and dry as it seems and there can be some surprises, especially earlier in winter.”

Easton's Nurture Nature Center is hosting a free star party in Scott Park from 7 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19, offering use of their telescopes and the expertise of their staff to help budding stargazers.

Wildlands Conservancy, as well as other partners and stakeholders, on Tuesday marked the completion of restoration work on the Bushkill Creek at Lafayette College with a celebration and wildflower-planting.