Environment & Science

The weekend storm threat would be the area’s first significant snowfall in years, but forecasters say we have a long way to go to determine the final impacts.

From 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 10, college officials are opening up the Fahy Commons for Public Engagement and Innovation, 2400 W. Chew St., for residents and community members to explore.

The James Webb Space Telescope, launched on Christmas 2021, orbits the Sun about a million miles outside Earth’s orbit. It is the most powerful, largest, and most complex telescope ever made.

This New Year’s Day, tens of thousands of people across the country, including dozens in the Valley, will take a guided hike through a state park to mark the beginning of 2024.

December 2023 is now the wettest December on record in the Lehigh Valley, with a total of 8.17 inches of rainfall recorded as of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. The high water mark was set during a day of record rain for Dec. 27.

The ski slopes just southeast of Lehigh County announced it would shut down at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, awaiting colder weather to make snow

With a forecast projecting 1 to 1.5 inches of rain possible this week, the Lehigh Valley will move closer to its wettest December ever.

Lawmakers in Harrisburg passed nearly three dozen laws last week in a final burst of action as they held their last voting session of the year.

Look for the full moon on Wednesday, Dec. 27

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 “Stanley Jr. Kids Wheelbarrow and 7-piece Garden Set" has been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission after the paint on the hoe and rake were found to contain lead levels exceeding the federal content ban.

Brad Klein reviews the week’s astronomical highlights with Bethlehem’s ‘Backyard Astronomy Guy,’ Marty McGuire. This week, they look ahead to the Autumnal Equinox.

SpaceX’s capsule Polaris Dawn splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico in the predawn darkness early Sunday. Returning to Earth were two SpaceX engineers, a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman of the Lehigh Valley. Isaacman became only the 264th person to perform a spacewalk.

A Lehigh University graduate last year recorded a new species of mushroom at Wildlands Conservancy's South Mountain Preserve.

Monarch butterflies are starting to migrate through the Lehigh Valley. An annual tagging program, held at Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, helps conservation efforts.

Called the Recovery in Nature initiative, two state departments have joined forces to create regional-specific partnerships to bolster substance use recovery efforts while strengthening all residents’ connection to nature.

While Tropical Storm Francine and its remnants will not be moving this way, it will play a role in the Lehigh Valley’s weather pattern for the next few days.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America released its report of the most challenging places to live with asthma. The release coincides with peak asthma season in September.

Early Tuesday, Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur who has a home in the Lehigh Valley, launched into space for a second time as part of a mission dubbed Polaris Dawn. The launch was visible in the area.

Awardees of the state Department of Education’s Environmental Repairs Grant program were announced Monday. It focuses on eliminating lead, mold, asbestos and other environmental hazards from school buildings.

Brad Klein reviews the week’s astronomical highlights with Bethlehem’s ‘Backyard Astronomy Guy,’ Marty McGuire. This week should be a good one for viewing the planet Saturn.

Easton's Nurture Nature Center has been recommended for conditional approval for its proposed planetarium, or "immersive dome," intended to expand programming capabilities.