Above: The Puyehue-Cordón Volcano Complex in Chile. Note that the ash cloud extends hundreds of kilometers from the volcano into the South Atlantic Ocean. Click on the image to enlarge.
Perhaps the greatest danger posed by the erupting Puyehue-Cordón Volcano Complexis the thick layer of ash being deposited east of the volcano. The image above, taken on June 13, 2011, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite, shows ash on the ground extending more than 125 miles (200 kilometers) and a large plume streaming east from the volcano for hundreds of miles.
The pale tan coating of ash on the ground has been accumulating since June 4, when the eruption started. The Chilean Service of Minerals and Mining (SERNAGEOMIN) warned that when winter rains begin to fall in the coming weeks, the loose ash could create dangerous landslides and lahars, particularly in ash-clogged river valleys in the Andes Mountains.
NOTE: A lahar is an Indonesian term that describes a hot or cold mixture of water and rock fragments flowing down the slopes of a volcano and or river valleys. When moving, a lahar looks like a mass of wet concrete that carries rock debris ranging in size from clay to boulders more than 10 meters in diameter. Lahars vary in size and speed. Large lahars hundreds of meters wide and tens of meters deep can flow several tens of meters per second -- much too fast for people to outrun.
The image above also shows the large plume of volcanic ash blowing about 500 miles (800 kilometers) east and then northeast over Argentina. The plume has disrupted air traffic as far away as New Zealand.
Though the intensity of the eruption has decreased slightly, volcanic activity is holding steady. The plume reached between 2 and 5 miles (4 and 8 kilometers) in altitude on June 13, its height varying with the intensity of the eruption throughout the day.
HOT WEATHER OVER FLORIDA
Meanwhile it was a steamy day on the Florida peninsula. Temperatures hovered around 100° F. (37.7° C.) all afternoon until a welcome rain came late in the day. We received around an inch (25.4 mm) of much needed rain that cooled temperatures into the 80°s F. (26-28° C.) So why is it so hot in Florida? Climate change? A blocking high pressure area? Who can say. A large and intense high sits over the Gulf of Mexico which is causing westerly winds across the peninsula. Anywhere inland of the west coast will experience temperatures around 100° F. again through Saturday or until the high pressure moves away from the Gulf of Mexico.
The image above also shows the large plume of volcanic ash blowing about 500 miles (800 kilometers) east and then northeast over Argentina. The plume has disrupted air traffic as far away as New Zealand.
Though the intensity of the eruption has decreased slightly, volcanic activity is holding steady. The plume reached between 2 and 5 miles (4 and 8 kilometers) in altitude on June 13, its height varying with the intensity of the eruption throughout the day.
HOT WEATHER OVER FLORIDA
Meanwhile it was a steamy day on the Florida peninsula. Temperatures hovered around 100° F. (37.7° C.) all afternoon until a welcome rain came late in the day. We received around an inch (25.4 mm) of much needed rain that cooled temperatures into the 80°s F. (26-28° C.) So why is it so hot in Florida? Climate change? A blocking high pressure area? Who can say. A large and intense high sits over the Gulf of Mexico which is causing westerly winds across the peninsula. Anywhere inland of the west coast will experience temperatures around 100° F. again through Saturday or until the high pressure moves away from the Gulf of Mexico.
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