Shishaldin volcano, which has been erupting for days, sent an ash cloud 40,000 feet into the air above Unimak Island early Friday morning.
The volcano, located in the eastern Aleutian Islands, started showing signs of unrest Tuesday.
At around midnight on Friday, a large explosion sent up a plume of ash, followed by another explosion at around 8 a.m.
Nick Schwartz is a lead forecaster for the National Weather Service. He said flights were not majorly affected by these recent eruptions because the wind pushed the ash southward into the Pacific Ocean. But he said the situation remains dynamic because Shishaldin eruptions can change quickly.
“This morning it went from basically nothing to a plume height of over 35,000 feet in a matter of 10 minutes,” Schwartz said.
Hannah Dietterich is a research geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey. She called Shishaldin an “open system,” meaning there is an easy pathway for the magma to travel.
“So those eruptions can happen with less warning time than other systems,” she said.
Dietterich said volcanic eruptions can last for many months, so be prepared — whether it be to protect yourself from ash fall, or to be flexible with travel plans due to possible flight cancellations.
“It's a pretty active place,” Dietterich said. “It's part of the Alaska experience.”
For more information on volcanic hazards and how to be safe during eruptions, head to USGS’s Volcano Hazards Program online.
Updated 7/17/23 — — —
Alaska Volcano Observatory officials say Saturday night’s 7.2 earthquake that happened near Sand Point was not related to the volcano. And the earthquake did not trigger the large ash eruption, even though they were just hours apart.
