Ok – so my sister lives in Alaska – Anchorage to be precise and if you didn’t know it, there’s a volcano that’s erupting right now. Mt Redoubt has shown signs of activity over the past couple of months and it resulted in an eruptive phase. Luckily, Redoubt is far enough away from Anchorage that it’s not causing too many problems, but it has closed down the airport in Anchorage now and then. My sister has reported that measurable ash has fallen only one or two times where she lives. That’s good news.
Most people don’t realize that volcanic ash isn’t like the stuff you’d find in your fireplace; it’s actually pulverized rock. Sometimes it can be the consistency of Comet cleanser, other times it’s much more gritty. It can cuase serious damage to all types of engines not to mention the damage it can do to fragile humans and other forms of life. So you see I have an interest in what’s going on.
To see for yourself, what’s going on at Mt. Redoubt, you can view these webcams that the Alaska Volcano Obserbatory has set up:
There are some pretty spectacular images to be seen, so check it out!