Mt. Etna Eruption ~ Local Coverage (latest event: Feb. 19 0500 local time! )

Originally posted by silo13

That is one of the greatest pics I have seen Silo.
I cannot imagine what it must be like to live on the doorstep of such an awesome power.
I know my dogs would be hiding under the sofa though-Hope Lucie is OK,I expect she is used to it by now.

Totally awesome.

Etna's New Southeast Crater is making quite some noise I have been told. But at the moment not much visable activity,

Incandescent lava is elected in the air

Well, need to go to bed but she is going nicely at the moment. Spitting fire etc.

I don't know when it started but Etna woke me at 0500 - HUGE fire display, lots of very fast moving lava and a lot a noise - nice and loud. I'll read back in a moment. Pictures coming.

peace

Good morning
She played nearly all day.
You should get a few good pics as lava is running quite fae down.

reply to post by silo13

Fantastic pic, well done

The lava flow is outrageous this time!
I can actually SEE it moving down the mountain it's running so fast!



peace

reply to post by Tzavros

Yes all day she was putting out her steam but there didn't seem to be any ash to it from an eye view. Last night at sundown the steam started taking on more color but again it was hard to say how much was ash and how much was lighting effects.

NO doubt what was going on at 04.53 when She 'boomed' me right outta bed!

Added note: That 'house' on the lower left? The best pizza place in all of Sicily. I'm convinced.

peace

The 'ash' and 'fallout' moving out over the Island and out over the sea...



peace

reply to post by silo13

Looks so pieceful.
Still no stats as the website has been down now for two days.
Etna's 23rd episode of lava fountaining (paroxysm) since January 2011 occurred during the early morning hours of 1 April 2012, nearly two weeks after the previous episode. As soon as darkness fell a glow could be seen after over a day of strombloii action. The event ended shortly before the first light of dawn. It looked like a repetition of the earlier episodes - it produced lava fountains hundreds of meters high from several vents within the crater and on the southeast side of its cone, lava flows that descended into the Valle del Bove but very quickly, and a tall column of gas and loose (pyroclastic) material, which led to heavy fallout of ash and lapilli over villages and towns on the southeast flank of Etna.
Until the next time.

Thanks so much for those pics, really is beautiful to look at.

Keep safe.

Thanks again Silo, this is one of my favorite ATS threads of alltime

reply to post by Tzavros

Happy Sunday to you - I have to say again how much I appreciate your contribution to the thread. It's just such great stuff!

Now for some home grown info for you!

I talked to some locals from just under where those ash clouds are about to drop and the report is the ash/sand fallout was quite the thing! Car damage, lots of crop damage and...rocks of 'unusual size' falling from the sky. That's a rough translation but I have to say when I heard it? I was WAY slap-happy from being tired and the person reporting the incident was very animated in the telling. I felt like I was in a Monty Python goes to Sicily film! That or I was interviewing a Sicilian Chicken Little!

'ROCKS OF UNUSUAL SIZE'!

Ok, maybe you had to be there and be tired, but at the time it was hysterical.

Have a great Sunday!

By the way - you ever make it over here I'll treat you to that pizza place in the picture!

reply to post by TKDRL

OH! THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting! I'll tell you it really makes a difference to me. It's not always easy jumping out of bed (at any and all hours) to crash through the vineyard all the way to the back in order to capture what our Etna is up to! It's even freaky as all get out sometimes standing there in the dark, alone, rocks of 'unusual size' falling on my head... No joke, sometimes it's scary. BUT! If people like you are enjoying the pics I'll keep at it just for you!

Thank you so much! You're invited for pizza too! Let's make a ATS night out at Minicucco!

peace