Environment & Science

The clocks went forward, but the weather turned back a season on Sunday as blinding snow squalls pushed through the Lehigh Valley. A wind advisory remains in effect Monday.

Brad Klein reviews the week’s astronomical highlights with Bethlehem’s "Backyard Astronomy Guy," Marty McGuire.

Dozens of students from across Pennsylvania will descend on Saucon Valley Middle School’s gymnasium for FIRST Tech Challenge’s robotics state championship, including two teams from the Lehigh Valley.

Pennsylvania’s maple sugaring season is well underway. At the Monroe County Conservation District’s Singing Hemlock Sugar Shack, educators guided visitors through the history of maple syrup production.

A flood watch remains in effect from 1 p.m. Saturday through Sunday evening for a large swath of the region, including Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Forecasters say a weekend storm will not only bring active weather, windy conditions Sunday and Monday are likely to bring isolated instances of tree damage and power outages to the Lehigh Valley.

Farmers say that the final offer for a property doesn’t account for fertile soil or product reliability. Plus, it doesn't accurately reflect the financial burden of moving to a new place.

Advocates and officials across Pennsylvania have signaled their support the new standards for fine particle pollution, also called soot or PM 2.5. However, federal officials don’t anticipate communities will meet the standard for almost a decade.

Norfolk Southern crews remained at the derailment site along the Lehigh River in Lower Saucon Township. The company released no details on what the trains were hauling or where they were going.

More than 200 years after the sanctuary was built, church leaders are working to make its heating and cooling more sustainable. While work is already underway, the oldest Moravian Church in North America still needs funding.

Meteorologist Bobby Martrich of EPAWA Weather Consulting highlighted the area as one to watch, thanks to the setup of a “thermal gradient” or baroclinic boundary as the storm moves through.

This week, Brad Klein shares his thoughts about the commonly heard phrase, "meteoric rise."

The Lehigh Valley is under a winter weather advisory from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, with total snow and sleet accumulations of 2 to 5 inches expected, with the greatest amounts at higher elevations.

While the program has expanded into the Lehigh Valley over the past few years, and is growing in popularity, officials said demand has also increased this year as federal programs and initiatives were canceled or paused.

The Lehigh Valley is in line for potential snowfall Tuesday as a coastal storm takes aim at the region, but there's a lot of uncertainty at this point," forecasters say.

After persistently dry, windy weather last year triggered concerns over the longevity of holiday trees, this year’s crop is shaping up well, Lehigh Valley growers said, with many different varieties available.

The Kline’s Island Sewer System, or KISS, regional wastewater plan has been approved by more than a dozen Lehigh County municipalities. Now, it's up to the state Department of Environmental Protection to approve it.

The survey, part of a project out of Lehigh’s Climate Resilience Center, is open until mid-December. As an incentive, residents who complete the survey will be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift card.

This week on Watching the Skies, WLVR's Brad Klein and Bethlehem's "Backyard Astronomy Guy" Marty McGuire dissect online misinformation circulating about an approaching comet. The third interstellar comet ever detected, combined with the long-running government shutdown, slowed NASA's response to the solar phenomenon, only fueling theories about the comet.

Amid the celebrations and family gatherings, residents can be mindful of their decisions this Thanksgiving, instituting small changes that could make a big difference during one of the most wasteful times of the year.

The nonprofit water and wastewater utility on Friday asked customers in its service area to voluntarily reduce their water use by 5% amid persistently dry conditions.

Lehigh Valley Planning Commission on Thursday reviewed a draft of its Industrial Land Use Guide, highlighting key points of concern and some potential mitigation strategies to address bigger, more utility-intensive uses.