Katmai/Novarupta ash cloud

[bjdeming]

The NWS just issued a volcanic ash advisory on this system -- but not from current activity, rather, from this one:



(Wait for it -- the part about the Sitka practical joke isn't related, but it's funny; the USGS did this report on the 1912 Novarupta/Katmai big one in 2012)

I'd like to see today's suspended-ash cloud on satellite or radar, if possible but am not sure where to check.

Volcanologists issued this information statement about half an hour ago:

ALASKA VOLCANO OBSERVATORY INFORMATION STATEMENT
U.S. Geological Survey
Thursday, December 26, 2019, 10:23 AM AKST (Thursday, December 26, 2019, 19:23 UTC)


KATMAI VOLCANO (VNUM #312170)
58°16'44" N 154°57'12" W, Summit Elevation 6716 ft (2047 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: NORMAL
Current Aviation Color Code: GREEN

Strong northwest winds in the vicinity of Katmai and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes have picked up loose volcanic ash erupted during the 1912 Novarupta-Katmai eruption and carried it to the southeast today. The resuspended ash cloud was first observed in satellite imagery around 2:00 a.m AKST (11:00 UTC) and is ongoing.
The resulting resuspended ash cloud currently extends over Shelikof Strait and Kodiak Island and heights up to an altitude of 6000 feet.

This phenomenon is not the result of recent volcanic activity and occurs during times of high winds and dry snow-free conditions in the Katmai area and other young volcanic areas of Alaska. No eruption is in progress. All of the volcanoes of the Katmai area (Snowy, Griggs, Katmai, Novarupta, Trident, Mageik, Martin) remain at color code GREEN.

Resuspended volcanic ash should be considered hazardous and could be damaging to aircraft and health. For more information on volcanic ash and human health, visit the following website: http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/ash/. Official warnings about these ash resuspension events are issued by the National Weather Service: http://www.weather.gov/afc. Forecasts of airborne ash hazard to aircraft: http://www.weather.gov/aawu . Volcanic Ash Advisories: http://vaac.arh.noaa.gov/ . Forecasts of ash fall: http://www.weather.gov/afc. Air quality hazards and guidance from Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Air Quality: http://dec.alaska.gov/Applications/Air/airtoolsweb/Advisories/Index

OTHER ALASKA VOLCANOES

Information on all Alaska volcanoes is available at : http://www.avo.alaska.edu.

For definitions of Aviation Color Codes and Volcano Alert Levels, see: http://www.avo.alaska.edu/color_codes.php

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CONTACT INFORMATION:

Michelle Coombs, Scientist-in-Charge, USGS
[email protected] (907) 786-7497

David Fee, Coordinating Scientist, UAFGI
[email protected] (907) 322-4085

The Alaska Volcano Observatory is a cooperative program of the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.
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