Mount Redoubt, an Alaskan volcano that has been dormant for the last two decades, finally awakened from its slumber over the weekend....spewing ash as high as 60,000 feet into the atmosphere. The volcano has erupted a total of six times since Sunday evening, with each eruption lasting anywhere from four to 30 minutes. Seismic activity continues in the vicinity of the mountain this morning, and periodic eruptions are expected to continue for the next several weeks or even months.
The last time Mt. Redoubt erupted was back in 1989 and 1990, and periodic eruptions continued for approximately five months! That particular eruption sent ash up to a height of 45,000 feet...so the current eruption is considerably more powerful. For now the eruption poses very little risk to any populated areas...but ashfall could become a concern in the city of Anchorage depending on fluctuations in the wind direction. The eruption has, however, destroyed one seismic station near the mountain's summit...and it has disrupted telemetry from an Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) observation hut. Mud flows, also known as "lahars", could produce flooding along the Drift River, and the National Weather Service has issued a flash flood warning as a result.
Unfortunately, poor weather in the vicinity of the mountain has not allowed for any photographs or videos to be taken at this point. Below are some links to webcams in the vicinity of Mt. Redoubt:
http://zeitcam.com/webcam/mount_redoubt
http://www.avo.alaska.edu/webcam/Redoubt_-_CI.php
http://www.anchorageweathercam.com/Anchorageweathercam.com.html
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