January 8, 2020: The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) has upgraded the aviation color code to red and alert level to warning after eruption occurred at Shishaldin volcano on January 7, 2020.
The Alaska Volcano Observatory reported that ash was blowing up to 27,000 feet in the air in the volcanic eruption that started around 5 a.m. on Tuesday.
According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, volcanic lighting was detected in the cloud and volcanic infrasound was detected at regional stations.
The National Weather Service has issued an aviation advisory for the area.
Shishaldin volcano, located near the center of Unimak Island in the eastern Aleutian Islands, is a spectacular symmetric cone with a base diameter of approximately 16 km (10 mi).
Most eruptions are relatively small, although the April-May 1999 event generated an ash column that reached 45,000 ft above sea level, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Alaska Volcano Observatory mentioned in its website.