I somehow always miss the very start of the eruption.
For episode 9 I was just a couple miles away in another part of the park when the eruption broke out.
For episode 15 I had been on the rim for hours waiting for the expected start when I finally gave up and went to grab breakfast. The eruption started while I was waiting for my omlette at the Crater Rim Cafe.
This time I saw it.
This time I watched the whole start.
OK, I was not actually present, rather we were watching the live stream in the cameras. I knew it was just a matter of time, it was going to happen. Our household is just a wee bit volcano addicted.
A long holiday weekend where I had the option of making the run to the volcano to be there. I had been keeping intensive watch on the volcano for a couple days, looking at the tiltmeter graphs, keeping the live stream up on the second monitor.
The volcano has been teasing us, if it had followed the usual pattern it would have erupted Friday, but here it was Sunday and no eruption. The tiltmeter graphs had stalled out, indicating the pressure in the magma chamber was high, but had stopped increasing, as a result the eruption was delayed.
Two little squirts.
As I walked past the computer I noted two little jets of lava squirting up in the north vent. It was rather mesmerizing to watch. As I considered this change I realized these little jets of lava probably hearalded the start of the eruption rather than another gas piston event. I grabbed a glass of iced tea and settled in to watch for a bit.
This little fountain did not stop, rather it got slowly stonger.
Then it just broke loose. You could see chunks of hardened crust in the vent break away as a gush of lava broke upwards. From there it just gradually grew as we watched intently. The USGS YouTube feed lets you scroll back in time and do instant replays. I repeated the gush a few times to note the details of how it happened.
An hour later and the jet of lava was simply epic. Easily 1,200 to 1,400ft high, the largest fountain of this eruption sequence yet. Both Deb and I watched on the big screen, it was a huge arch of lava crashing down on the high cliffs south of the vent.
Unfortunately the timing was wrong. The eruption started too close to sunset for me to get there in time, an hour earlier and I would have probably made the run. Go for the dawn? As I write this it is still erupting, but the eruptions have been lasting about ten hours. Checking the tiltmeter graphs this eruption will probably be done before the sun rises, it will probably be done by midnight.
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