Cleveland Volcano Eruption Detected, Aviation Color Code Raised to Orange

• The Cleveland Volcano in Alaska erupted recently, spewing small ash plume.
• As a result, authorities raised the Aviation Color Code from “unassigned” to “Orange”.
• It also raised the Volcano Alert Level from “unassigned” to “Watch”.

American authorities detected a small ash plume in Cleveland volcano, Alaska on June 2. According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), the small explosion occurred at 6.7 km or 22,000 feet above sea level, drifting to the south.

Consequently, AVO sent warnings to all pilots about the said volcanic activity. Although the eruption is normally producing relatively small volcanic ash clouds, AVO pointed out that significant ash emissions are possible.

“No other significant activity was detected but the Alaska Volcano Observatory says local monitoring stations are offline,” KTUU reported.

AVO raised the Aviation Color Code from “unassigned” to “Orange” plus they also raised the Volcano Alert from “unassigned” to “Watch”.

When the color code is in Orange, this means a volcano is exhibiting escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption. Under Orange code, the timeframe of explosion is also uncertain or an eruption is underway. However, the explosion only poses “limited hazards”, including no or minor volcanic ash emissions.

The Watchers confirmed that the limited real-time seismic network is monitoring the current activity of Cleveland volcano. However, due to the limited monitoring capabilities, it prevents AVO from detecting any precursory unrest that may lead to an explosive eruption.

“Rapid detection of an ash-producing eruption may be possible using a combination of seismic, infrasound, lightning, and satellite data,” The Watchers stated.

Geological summary

The symmetrical Mount Cleveland stratovolcano is located at the western end of the uninhabited, dumbell-shaped Chuginadak Island.

In addition, the Cleveland Volcano is the highest of the islands of the Four Mountain groups. It is also one of the most active volcano of the Aleutian islands.

The native name for Cleveland volcano or Mount Cleveland is “Aleut” which means “the goddess of fire”. Indigenous people claimed that the goddess of fire lives in the volcano.