Augustine Volcano erupts
Light ash could reach Kenai Peninsula, expected to miss Anchorage
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7350704p-7262889c.html
Daily News staff and wire reports

Published: January 11, 2006
Last Modified: January 11, 2006 at 10:11 AM


Mount Augustine Volcano erupted early Wednesday, sending an ash plume an estimated 30,000 feet into the Alaska sky.


A pair of explosions at 4:44 a.m and 5:13 a.m. indicated the volcano probably had erupted, said geologist Jennifer Adleman of the Alaska Volcano Observatory said. Seismic activity has not continued since those explosions.

The plume advanced north but was expected to remain west of Anchorage, said Bob Hopkins, meteorologist in charge in the Anchorage office. A flight advisory was issued for pilots for an area 20 miles east and west of the volcano and about 50 miles north.

"Fortunately, it's not going to Anchorage this time," Hopkins said. The volcano is on an uninhabited island about 180 miles southwest of Anchorage and across Cook Inlet from the Kenai Peninsula. The volcano is about 75 miles southwest of Homer.

Winds are carrying an ash plume from the mountain north toward the Iniskin Peninsula on the west side of Cook Inlet, an area with little settlement.

But winds above 20,000 feet were moving east toward the Kenai Peninsula, meaning light ash could reach the Anchor Point area this morning.

The ash is not expected to reach Anchorage. The ash cloud appears to have low concentrations of ash, the National Weather Service said.

Those wind patterns are expected to hold for at least the next 24 hours, in case further eruptions take place, said National Weather Service meteorologist Neil Murakami.

Era Aviation cancelled some morning flights in the region and held others, waiting until daylight to check the status of the ash cloud.

"We had some flights headed down to Kodiak, Homer and Kenai and we just turned them around and brought them back to Anchorage," Paul Landis, Era Aviation president.

PenAir cancelled flights to King Salmon and held flights to Aniak and McGrath until daylight. Flights to Dutch Harbor and Cold Bay were routed around the ash cloud, according to Danny Seybert, Chief Operations Officer of Penn Air.

Alaska Airlines was closely monitoring the situation, but had made no changes to the flight schedule as of 9:30 a.m., according to airline spokeswoman Amanda Tobin in Seattle. No ash had fallen in the Iliamna Lake community of Pedro Bay, the nearest settlement to the volcano, said tribal administrator Kevin Jensen.

No ashfall is expected in Kodiak, which is south of the island volcano. A National Weather Service ashfall alert mentioned Kodiak but only because the Kamishak Bay area is included in the Kodiak reporting district, Murakami said. No tsunami activity is anticipated from the events so far, the volcano observatory said.

The observatory planned to make observation flights after sunrise at 10:03 a.m. to get more information about the types of gases emitted from the volcano, Adleman said.

Weather in the area is cloudy.

The 4,134-foot volcano about 180 miles southwest of Anchorage last erupted in 1986. Ash from a 7-mile-high column drifted over Anchorage and kept flights out of the skies over Cook Inlet.

The explosions, with magnitude 2.6 seismic activity, occurred at 4:44 a.m. Alaska Standard Time, and the observatory upgraded the level of concern from orange to red, meaning a significant eruption was occurring or an explosive eruption was expected at any time.

Augustine had been rumbling since November, and seismic measurements picked up around 4 p.m. Tuesday. At 9:05 p.m., the observatory had upgraded the level of concern from yellow, or restless, to orange, meaning an eruption could occur at any time.

Further eruptions could take place at any time, U.S. Geological Survey scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said.

Is close to you? Are you affected from ash? Can you see it?
Have never been anywhere near one. Nature is pretty spectacular. I love to watch thunderstorms and such.
Post a picture.
Cheezywan

I'm tucked behind the mountains well north of the volcano. We were anticipating some ashfall, but the NWS released a report saying that wasn't likely. This wasn't a major eruption, and the mountain is still in "condition red". I don't think this is over by a long shot.

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Augustine.php

When Mt. Spurr and Mt. Redoubt blew, most of Southcentral AK, at least north and east got considerable ashfall. Augustine is part of this chain of volcanoes, situated on the west side of Cook Inlet near Homer.

The volcano has erupted twice this morning. Ashfall expected on Kodiak and southern areas of the Kenai Peninsula.

Mount Martin, south of the Augustine volcano is beginning to rumble, with more than 300 earthquakes reported yesterday. Mt. Spurr, north of Mt. Augustine has been in condition yellow for the past six months. Along with the Redoubt volcano, these peaks form a chain of volcanoes on the west side of Cook Inlet near Anchorage to the Alaska Peninsula.

Other well known, but thought to be extinct volcanoes in the area are Katmai, Novarupta, and Aniakchak. the Aleutian Islands contain several as well that have been active in the past few years.

Looks like there might be a little more land to go around up there pretty soon if they all erupt at once! :D CEJ..

Hope that part of the country doesn't decide to slide off into the Pacific, Alyeska! :eek:

We just had another eruption from Augustine. 3rd of the day.

Augustine portion of daily Status Reports. Posted in mid to late afternoon.
January 13, 2006

Level of Concern Color Code: RED

Several explosive events occurred at Augustine Volcano this morning: at approximately 3:55 AM AST (13:24 UTC); 8:47 AM AST (17:47); and 11:22 AM AST (20;22). Pilot reports and satellite imagery confirm ash clouds in excess of 30,000 ft above sea level moving eastward. Seismic data suggest that pyroclastic flows and lahars (volcanic mudflows) are occurring on the flanks of the island and possibly extending beyond.

Similar short-lived explosive activity is expected to continue over the next several days or weeks. Individual explosions are expected to produce ash plumes accompanied by pyroclastic flows and lahars (volcanic mudflows) on the flanks of the volcano.

When Mt. Spurr and Mt. Redoubt blew, most of Southcentral AK, at least north and east got considerable ashfall. Augustine is part of this chain of volcanoes, situated on the west side of Cook Inlet near Homer.

Was it the ash from the Redoubt eruption years ago that temporarily killed the engines of an Alaska Airlines? I'll bet that was a nail-biter on that flight until they got the engines fired off again!

I don't remember the Alaska Airlines incident during Redoubt's eruption, but remember there was a Korean Airlines incident. Basically, they had to shutdown their engines till out of the ash cloud then restart. Can't recall the exact amount altitude lost, but it was considerable.

There was an Alaskan Airlines crash off the California coast a few years ago, but that didn't have anything to do with volcanoes...

Augustine had another event yesterday just after midnight, the early hours of the 14th. Today, the 15th, has been quieter. Woke up to really light snow. At work we were all joking about having to fire up the ash blower to clear the 6 inches of new ash that had fallen since about midnight. Since the winds had been blowing out of the NW over the volcano, the ash cloud went out to sea. That was interesting to see on the news on radar.

I remember standing on the roof of our house in 1980 when I was a kid in Portland watching the ash plume from Mount St. Helens. So far this has been no where near that size class. There is a restaurant here in Anchorage called Harry's. I have always thought that it was a strange thing. It is named after the old guy who lived up near Spirit Lake WA. He refused to leave the mountain when he was advised of the volcano danger. Everything and everyone around Spirit Lake was erased by the eruption, pyroclastic flow, and the mud slides that wound up in the Toutle River destroying everything in its way.

Yes, I recall the old guy and the TV interview with him. Was really saddened to hear he didn't make it out. Remember Spirit Lake being wiped out and the silt/ash/timber clogging all the streams and rivers.

My oldest daughter was graduating high school and the event was outside at the football field. The ash cloud obscured the sun, making the midday ceremony seem like late evening. This was in Tulsa, Ok.

Augustine continues to erupt. The recent activity began January 26th and continues at the time of this post.

Some airlines are canceling and/or redirecting their flights into Anchorage because of the ash cloud circulating in shearing winds.