Iceland's newest volcano is also launching tornadoes
Iceland’s volcano Litli-Hrútur formed from a fissure just three weeks ago on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
Drone footage captured the moment a tornado was created over Iceland’s youngest volcano.
Litli-Hrútur, or "Little Ram," formed from a fissure just three weeks ago on the Reykjanes Peninsula in the southwestern region of the island.
The video, shared online on July 24, shows a tornado whirring above Iceland’s newest volcano as it spews lava below. The spectacle is a result of the boiling lava warming the air above it, causing it to rise. Paired with specific wind conditions, the column of hot air can rise and spin into a tornado.
David Smart, a researcher of tornadoes and storms at University College London’s Hazard Center, told Live Science that he wasn’t sure whether the heat source came from the volcanic debris or the lava flow.
“This is a type of tornado that is sometimes seen where there is a strong heat source on the ground and the atmosphere is unstable in the lowest kilometer [0.6 miles] or so near the surface,” Smart said. “This seems to be a particularly well-formed and long-lived example, which might imply that atmospheric conditions were particularly conducive on this day.”
Read more on Yahoo News: Iceland's volcano eruption suggests ‘new cycle,’ via Reuters
In the same month the tornado was spotted, a father and daughter came into contact with a “dust devil” — a whirlwind caused by light winds and hot temperatures. “Earlier in the day my daughter and I were hit by a dust devil, beaten with sand, and I lost a hat!” Andrew Davies said.
However, it isn’t just Icelandic volcanoes that have been creating scary conditions. In Hawaii, Kilauea — a volcano located on Big Island — was emitting a type of smog that contained glass shards. The “vog” that was released from an eruption contained “Pele’s hair” — tiny and lightweight volcanic glass fragments that could become airborne when carried on strong winds.
“Imagine inhaling tiny slivers of glass,” Don Swanson, a former research geologist at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, told Live Science in 2018. “That’s what the Pele’s hair is. It can inflame and irritate anything that comes in contact with it.”
