Wow. Got up this morning, late. Really slept well after the last few sleepless nights. What do I find? All UK airports closed due volcanic ash!.
I though I’d make this post as it has info that probably wont make it to the news programs.
I should mention that I am qualified to comment upon such weather phenomena from the point of view as a retired Airline Captain.
We probably all know about the Icelandic volcano that has been erupting for a while now. Any volcanic eruption discharges huge amounts of ash into the atmosphere, along with all sorts of other substances, including vast amounts of CO2 (Iceland has just blown its carbon quotas for the next few millennia).
Flying into volcanic ash causes severe engine damage. In flying terms, the word ’severe’ actually means something, rather than tripe on the news. It means the engine or engines have suffered damage that will cause it to fail, or indeed has failed. End of. Some years ago, a Boeing 747 flew into an ash cloud and all four engines failed. For a period of time that aircraft, and all on board were doomed. The pilots kept trying restarts, eventually they got engines going, and were able to divert and land safely. When I find the story, I will post it here. By the way, when those engines were assessed afterwards, none of them were repairable, they were effectively destroyed. So this volcanic ash is serious business. During my own flying career, I have diverted many, many times, due to volcanic ash (not in the UK though), so it’s not new, and experienced airline Captains are well versed with what to do. And what to do, is keep well clear.
So, are we panicking? In my opinion definitely not. I would even say that we might have put out warnings earlier. The first airport to close was in Norway, when an aircraft actually reported ash in his vicinity. That is far to close for comfort.
This pressure chart shows a well established high pressure system to the south of Iceland, nothing unusual. Look at the isobars over Iceland and look at where they go to. A well established airflow has been created that will transport the ash direct to us. The duration of the current airport closures will depend on two things. 1. How fast the pressure system moves, and at this time of year not very quickly, and 2. How long the eruption lasts. It’s important to understand that volcanic ash can easily circumnavigate the Earth.
The chart above shows areas where the ash is likely to affect. The red line indicates ash from ground level up to 20,000 feet.
Still not convinced? The satellite image should take care of that. You can see very clearly the ash stream snaking it’s way on a south easterly track from Iceland. The met boys have got this spot on.
