KEMETIC MINDS
Extreme Earth Changes Watch — Daily Report — September 03, 2026
Extreme Earth Changes Watch leads with a newly certified state weather record in Illinois, then tracks an Indonesian volcano alert rise, three urban sinkhole events, and new research on GPS disruption from space weather.
- Illinois hailstone: A 6.6-inch, 1.2-pound hailstone that fell in Kankakee on March 10 is now the state’s official size record, breaking a 4.75-inch mark set in 2015 (Chicago Sun-Times, 2026).
- Sumatra volcano: Mount Sinabung sent ash and smoke 3,500 meters into the sky, and Indonesia raised the alert level to “Watch,” the second-highest level (The Star, 2026).
- Akron, Ohio: A sinkhole caused by a water main break swallowed a woman’s car on Spicer Street on Sept. 1 (News 5 Cleveland, 2026).
- Road collapses: Sinkholes also closed lanes on Maryland’s River Road and on Birmingham’s Livery Street [1][2].
- El Niño outlook: The World Meteorological Organization warns that an exceptionally strong El Niño is developing (MSN News, 2026a).
- Space weather: Scientists found GPS errors of more than 30 feet during the Nov. 11, 2025, geomagnetic storm [3].
Video: Indonesia's Sinabung Just Erupted to 11,000 Feet — And Officials Warn a Bigger One May Follow. Source: EARTH SIGNAL.
1. Illinois: A “real beast” of a hailstone sets the state record
The State Climate Extremes Committee has officially confirmed that the hailstone that fell in a Kankakee backyard during March storms is Illinois’ largest on record, measuring 6.6 inches in diameter and weighing 1.2 pounds (Chicago Sun-Times, 2026). NOAA NCEI logged the certified stone at 6.603 inches. The previous state record, collected in June 2015, measured 4.75 inches.
The hailstone fell during a severe March storm round that also spawned 12 tornadoes. Illinois state climatologist Trent Ford said 2026 is “probably the most severe year for weather in recent memory,” with more than 200 tornadoes and intense summer flooding across the state (Chicago Sun-Times, 2026).
Read the full Chicago Sun-Times report.
Video: Sinkhole shuts down part of River Road in Potomac | NBC4 Washington. Source: NBC4 Washington.
2. Indonesia: Mount Sinabung erupts, alert raised to “Watch”
Mount Sinabung, a 2,600-meter volcano on Sumatra, has erupted with a column of black ash and smoke rising 3,500 meters into the sky (The Star, 2026). Officials reported no immediate casualties, evacuations, or flight disruptions, but advised people to stay out of villages in North Sumatra’s Karo district and areas within 6 km of the summit. Roads, vehicles, and buildings in several villages were covered in gray ash, and local authorities distributed masks.
Indonesia’s Geological Agency raised the alert level to “Watch,” the second-highest level for volcanic activity, expanding the safe zone around the mountain. Chief Lana Saria said, “This eruption is considered an initial eruption, and it is possible that a larger eruption could occur” (The Star, 2026). The agency had recorded increased activity in mid-August, including dozens of earthquakes. About 30,000 people have been displaced around Sinabung in past years because of volcanic activity.
Video: Earthquake Hits During Evening Newscast. Source: CBS LA.
3. Akron, Ohio: Sinkhole swallows a car after water main break
Felicia Stinson was driving along Spicer Street on the evening of Sept. 1 when her car slid into what looked like a large puddle but was actually a sinkhole opened by a water main break (News 5 Cleveland, 2026). She could not get the car into reverse, and a neighbor helped her escape before the vehicle was towed out. Water poured from the car as crews lifted it from the crater.
Stinson told News 5 Cleveland that a neighbor had already called authorities about the water main break before she arrived, but no barriers or traffic diversions were in place. She urged Akron residents to be careful and said the damage to her car is still unclear. City officials say Akron is on pace for a record year of water main breaks, blaming an aging pipe distribution system (News 5 Cleveland, 2026).
Read the full News 5 Cleveland report.
Video: 5 Stunning Volcano Eruptions Caught On Camera. Source: Underworld.
4. Potomac, Maryland: Sinkhole closes River Road lanes
A sinkhole has closed all eastbound lanes and the right westbound lane on River Road, or MD 190, at Counselman Road in Potomac, Montgomery County [1]. The Maryland State Highway Administration reported the road hazard around 1 a.m. Thursday. By 5:24 a.m., crews were on scene and repairs were underway; no reopening time had been given.
Drivers were urged to use alternate routes and expect delays.
Video: Flying over huge sinkhole that grew overnight, closing roads for a week. Source: CBS 21 News.
5. Birmingham, UK: Livery Street sinkhole diverts buses
A sinkhole opened on Livery Street between Barwick Street and Colmore Row on Monday night, Aug. 31, closing a main route linking Birmingham city centre with the Jewellery Quarter [2]. National Express West Midlands has diverted bus routes 7, 52, and 101 via Colmore Circus Queensway and Old Square.
Birmingham City Council said contractor Kier identified underground services at the site and needed specialist equipment for the repair. The equipment was due on site Thursday, with work expected to be completed the same day [2]. West Midlands Roads said the closure could last until the end of the week.
Read the full Yahoo News UK report.
6. Nepal–Tibet: Old glacier-calving video is not the flood trigger
After a glacial collapse triggered deadly flash floods that swept away settlements on the Nepal-Tibet border in August 2026, an old video showing chunks of ice breaking off a glacier has been shared online (MSN News, 2026b). The report identifies the clip as Arctic glacier calving, not the collapse that triggered the catastrophic floods.
Read the full MSN News report.
7. Ontario: 3.4-magnitude earthquake reported
KESQ reported a 3.4-magnitude earthquake near Ontario on Sept. 2 (KESQ, 2026). The available report contained no additional epicenter or damage details.
8. Space weather: 2025 geomagnetic storm degraded GPS by more than 30 feet
Researchers writing in Geophysical Research Letters measured the GPS disruption from the Nov. 11, 2025, geomagnetic storm by combining aurora-camera observations with ground-based GPS receiver networks across the U.S. and Canada [3]. They found strong signal fluctuations across the U.S., from the West Coast to Florida, lasting hours and throwing off positioning by more than 30 feet (10 meters).
Errors at that level can affect precision agriculture and autonomous vehicles, according to the study team. A more severe geomagnetic storm in May 2024, which hit during the farming season, cost U.S. Midwest farmers more than $500 million, according to Space.com, as cited in the report [3].
9. Forecast: “Supersized” El Niño draws WMO warning
The World Meteorological Organization warned that the world should brace for extreme heat, droughts, and flooding in some regions in the coming months as an exceptionally strong El Niño develops (MSN News, 2026a). The warning did not specify which regions would be most affected in the article portion available to this roundup.
Read the full MSN News report.
What Scientists Are Saying
- Illinois state climatologist Trent Ford said formal review by the State Climate Extremes Committee is important because “pictures of large stones on social media” alone are not enough to verify a record (Chicago Sun-Times, 2026).
- Indonesia’s Geological Agency chief Lana Saria classified Sinabung’s eruption as an initial event and warned that a larger eruption could follow (The Star, 2026).
- The Geophysical Research Letters study team said intense ionospheric disturbances during the Nov. 11, 2025, storm were large enough to disrupt precision agriculture and self-driving vehicle operations [3].
- World Meteorological Organization experts warned that an exceptionally strong El Niño could bring extreme heat, drought, and flooding to some regions in coming months (MSN News, 2026a).
How To Track These Events
For live verification, the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program, NOAA Weather, NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, and the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program all publish free public real-time monitoring data. Check official agency feeds rather than relying on unverified social-media clips.
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Kemetic Minds Analysis
“Extreme Earth Changes Watch” exists to track real, agency-verified geophysical and weather events without the hype — every event here is tied to a named source: USGS, NOAA, the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, or mainstream news, rather than an anonymous social post. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, and extreme weather happen somewhere on Earth every single day; this roundup exists to separate genuinely unusual or record-setting activity from routine background activity, using the same scientific sourcing bar every day.
References
- WJLA. (2026, September 3). Sinkhole shuts down lanes on River Road in Potomac. https://wjla.com/news/local/river-road-potomac-sinkhole-md-190-counselman-road-road-closure-traffic-montgomery-county-repairs-lane-closures-morning-commute-delays-roadway-hazard-maryland-roads-traffic-alert ↩a ↩b
- Yahoo News UK. (2026, September 3). Sinkhole shuts main Birmingham road with buses diverted. https://uk.news.yahoo.com/sinkhole-shuts-main-birmingham-road-101809632.html ↩a ↩b ↩c
- Gizmodo. (2026, September 2). A Solar Superstorm Caused a GPS Glitch Bad Enough to Crash Self-Driving Cars. https://gizmodo.com/a-solar-superstorm-caused-a-gps-glitch-bad-enough-to-crash-self-driving-cars-2000806428 ↩a ↩b ↩c ↩d
Investigative Methodology: This roundup is generated on a fixed daily schedule (morning, America/Chicago) from live wire sources. Every claim is grounded in fetched source text with a numbered citation, and this series only reports events backed by an official agency (USGS, NOAA, Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program) or mainstream news coverage — never anonymous social-media claims alone. No event is asserted to be connected to another, or framed as prophetic/supernatural, unless a cited scientist or agency source explicitly says so. Every video embed is verified to be a real, existing video via YouTube’s oEmbed endpoint before publication. No Wikipedia sources are used.
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