Pages

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Redoubt explodes a 6th time; ash falls in Susitna and Kuskokwim valleys






Redoubt explodes a 6th time
KTUU.com
by Andrew Hinkelman, Jill Burke, Sean Doogan and Casey Grove
Monday, March 23, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A new explosive eruption occured at 8 p.m. Monday at Mount Redoubt. Radar indicates a cloud height of at least 60,000 feet above sea level. The Alaska Volcano Observatory says ash emmission ended around 9 p.m.

Mount Redoubt ended weeks of seismic unrest and suspense with a series of five powerful eruptions late Sunday night and early Monday morning, depositing ash in the Susitna and Kuskokwim valleys.

The eruptions, which began at 10:38 p.m. Sunday, also disrupted air traffic into and out of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

"These events were very large, explosive eruptions of Redoubt Volcano," geophysicist John Power with the U.S. Geological Survey and Alaska Volcano Observatory said at an early morning press conference.

Reports of ash fall came in from Skwentna, Talkeetna, Wasilla and Trapper Creek throughout Monday morning, ranging from one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch.

Monday afternoon the National Weather Service reported ash fall at Denali National Park headquarters along the eastern Alaska Range, as well as farther south in Cantwell.

Views of the volcano from Kenai, just 50 miles away, were obscured by clouds.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation issued an air quality advisory for the Susitna and Kuskokwim valleys effective until 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Read more...

No comments: