1/14/2006: A volcano erupts, live
Funny thing about webcams: you never know when something interesting might happen while you're watching one.
Friday afternoon I fired up the cam pointed at Augustine Volcano in Alaska, which has been rumbling this week. It was an awe-inspiring sight, the peak spewing a stream of steam and/or ash into the blue sky. From the safety of my monitor, it looked pretty and peaceful, like a child's drawing of a volcano. Then an eruption arrived with dusk and I was lucky enough to snag these screenshots. It was the fifth eruption of the day, following two on Wednesday. The ash plumes have been estimated to be 30,000 to 50,000 feet.. that's almost 10 miles.
Augustine is on an uninhabited island in Cook Inlet, not far from Kodiak. The eruptions have closed schools and interrupted air traffic in and out of Anchorage which is 180 miles north.
4.40 pm
4.45 pm 
4.49 pm
5.09 pm
More info:
Alaska Volcano Observatory - Augustine cam - Google Earth view
