Environment & Science

Signs of spring are popping open around the Lehigh Valley, which means allergy season is here. The mild winter may play a role in how early and severe those allergies are.

Rodale Institute's board of directors announced Jeff Tkach, 43, of Lower Macungie Township, will serve as the nonprofit's new CEO. He'll take the helm of the Kutztown-based organic farming research and education organization starting April 21.

A chemical spill of a latex product late Friday in Bristol Township released contaminants into a Delaware River tributary, according to OEM officials.

The Lehigh Valley Zoo has three new African penguins, bringing its total colony to 14. As part of a species survival plan, zoo officials hope the birds will pair off a reproduce to bolster the endangered species.

Pennsylvania will again operate a water assistance program for low-income households behind in their water or wastewater bills, state officials announced last week.

With the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and federal Environmental Protection Agency at odds over the acceptable levels of 'forever chemicals' in public drinking water, it’s become an expensive and frustrating process for at least one Lehigh Valley municipality.

Spring arrives at 5:24 p.m. Monday and it will certainly feel like it for the first few days of the week, meteorologists say, with widespread sunshine and blue skies on tap.

A wind advisory is in effect until midnight for areas mainly near and south of the Interstate 78 corridor, where the weather service expects gusts of 40 to 50 mph by Tuesday afternoon, with potential for a few localized higher gusts.

On the anniversary of the Blizzard of '93, forecasters say a complex coastal storm will develop on Monday, shifting from the Mid-Atlantic north into New England and dropping heavy snow just north of the Lehigh Valley.

A Lehigh Valley resident was recognized as a “Volunteer of the Year” for 2023 by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, a statewide nonprofit that focuses on litter cleanups and community improvements.

Less than 24 hours removed from the Lehigh Valley’s heaviest snowfall in three years, forecasters have a word of advice to offer: don’t put the shovel away just yet.

Tuesday's fast-moving storm swept quickly through the Lehigh Valley but packed a wallop, bringing nearly a foot of snow to several spots.

“This has been a tremendously difficult storm to forecast due to rapidly changing conditions/temperatures expected and the difference in timing,” the National Weather Service said in its forecast discussion.

PPL Electric Utilities and Met-Ed reported more than 13,000 customers without power Tuesday morning as a winter storm swept through the region.

Several Lehigh Valley schools are closing Tuesday because of the weather forecast.

Early Monday, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning in effect for the Lehigh Valley for 7 to 10 inches of snow, with locally higher amounts over the higher elevations.

One area of potential concern at the Allentown State Hospital had been the presence of dioxins in the soil. Dioxins are a group of toxic chemical compounds that take a long time to break down in the environment, and can cause health problems in people.

Betelgeuse is the red supergiant star at Orion’s ‘right shoulder.’

Lehigh and Northampton counties are under a winter storm watch in effect from 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, with 4 to 8 inches of heavy, wet snow possible.

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.

It’s a special year for cicadas, insects known for their high-pitched mating songs. Two adjacent broods are expected to co-emerge for the first time in 221 years. Here's the next time they emerge in the Valley.