Environment & Science

Of the thousands of stories covered and told in 2025, our staff picked some of their favorites. They included a bald eagle looking for love in the Hellertown area and an $11 million "sky dome" planned for Easton.

In 2025, LehighValleyNews.com readers gravitated toward stories that reflected mounting economic pressure, public safety concerns, environmental uncertainty and moments of sharp civic tension.

Beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, the office will transition away from the traditional, chronological structure of the area forecast discussion.

This week, a suggestion for how to enjoy the view from the International Space Station, without the expense and arduous training needed to become an astronaut.

For the first time, all three of the Lehigh Valley’s cities have a sustainability manager or coordinator, a role dedicated to sustainability initiatives and fighting the worsening impacts of climate change.

Keith Lampman-Perlman, who often goes by “KLP,” recently was appointed as the 176-year-old cemetery’s new executive director, a role focused on community engagement, preservation and fundraising.

A new app developed by Moravian Academy students aimed at detecting and warning developers about waste runoff has secured over $10,000 in funding from successful pitch presentations.

This week marks the start of astronomical winter which began with the December solstice, Sunday morning just after 10 a.m. EST.

While the penguins were taken off exhibit, barnyard birds and waterfowl at Lehigh Valley Zoo were shuffled to different enclosures so visitors could still view them.

Wind Gap will get a $130,000 state grant to help fund a new, larger pavilion at the borough's municipal park, officials announced Thursday.

The Lehigh Valley Audubon Society, in partnership with the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, is holding its 10th annual Christmas Bird Count for Kids on Saturday, Jan. 11.

The National Weather Service said Monday the scenario will lead to “exceptionally high probabilities of below-normal temperatures expected across much of the East," but the true intensity of the cold is still unknown.

More than 300 Met-Ed customers were impacted by damage to three poles when a tree fell into lines near South Delaware Drive in Easton, which reportedly closed the road as well.

A look back to the weather headlines that dominated 2024, and what's to come for the Lehigh Valley. Could a cold and snowy January be on tap?

Depending on cloud cover, the Lehigh Valley could see a lunar eclipse between midnight on March 13 through early morning March 14. A solar eclipse could peak just after midnight on March 29.

“It doesn’t matter what amount it is, it’s still treacherous on area roadways,” EPAWA meteorologist Bobby Martrich said in his latest video update.

Temperatures will drop below freezing across the area late Friday night and early Saturday, likely setting the stage for a period of freezing rain, according to the National Weather Service.

Administered by Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, or POWR, with funding from the DCNR, officials said the effort aims to elevate public awareness of specific rivers and recognize important conservation needs and achievements.

With temperatures in the 20s overnight, snow is expected for the southern Poconos, northern New Jersey and the Lehigh Valley, though accumulations should generally be less than one inch.

It will get warmer and closer to normal as the week progresses, but for now, the National Weather Service recommends folks bundle up as an arctic air mass from Canada and the Great Lakes moves in.

The longest running raptor migration count in the world wrapped up for the 2024 season. Staff and volunteers spent more than 1,000 hours recording species as part of Hawk Mountain's conservation efforts.

It is humanity's first-ever mission into the part of the sun’s upper atmosphere known as the corona.