AccuWeather
Volcano awakens in Iceland after 6,000-year slumber
Following weeks of anticipation, the long-dormant Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland began erupting on Friday night and continued to spew lava through the weekend and into the start of the week. This is the first time in 6,000 years that the volcano has erupted, but nearby volcanoes on the Reykjanes Peninsula have erupted as recently as 781 years ago, The Associated Press reported. The volcano is erupting in the area that recently experienced a swarm of more than 22,000 earthquakes near the end of February and into early March. Officials in Iceland had been warning that the swarm was a prelude to a volcanic eruption. CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP The Fagradalsfjall volcano is located in southwestern Iceland and about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away from the capital city of Reykjavik. One of the closest towns is Grindavik, which sits about 6 miles away. Iceland’s Department of Emergency Management said it was not anticipating evacuations because the volcano is in a remote valley, about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the nearest road, the AP reported. The eruption thus far has been confined to a small area, with the Icelandic Meteorological Office tweeting on Saturday that the eruptive fissure was approximately 1,640-2,300 feet (500-700 meters) long with lava covering less than 0.38 square miles (1 square kilometer). While the eruption site was originally blocked off to the public, by Saturday, people were allowed to make the hike to view the eruption, according to BBC News. And big crowds turned out to witness the spectacle over the weekend — and, as it happened, experience the unique scent of the magma. “It smells pretty bad,” Úlvar Kári Jóhannsson, 21, admitted in an interview with AFP. “For me what was surprising were the colors of the orange — much much deeper than what you’d expect,” he said. “It’s absolutely breathtaking.” Meanwhile, a drone flying over the volcano captured sensational footage of molten rock splashing out of the mouth of Fagradalsfjall as it was forced up from deep within the Earth. On Monday, however, increased gas emissions once again closed the site. There has been very little in the way of ash emissions associated with the eruption, which has kept impacts very localized. Should there be a more significant eruption with an ash plume, light winds through Wednesday may keep any potential ash near the eruption site. By Thursday, wind can shift out of the southeast, potentially blowing towards Reykjavik. While gas emissions at the site have occasionally been at dangerous levels, it is unlikely that the gas will reach Reykjavik at dangerous levels. For anyone attempting making the trek to view the eruption, several bouts of rain and snow are expected through the rest of the week, but precipitation is not expected to be heavy. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier, Spectrum, FuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios.
