33 years ago, tomorrow - 18 May 80

[darin]

I was seven, living about 3 hours north of Mt St Helens

[jimnyc]

Mother nature can be scary at times! Did you guys get hit with a lot of ash where you were?

[Thunderknuckles]

Mother nature can be scary at times! Did you guys get hit with a lot of ash where you were?

I vaguely recall people bottling that stuff and selling it.

[jimnyc]

I vaguely recall people bottling that stuff and selling it.

Yeap, sounds familiar. I could have sworn remembering ash going across country, is that even possible?

[Thunderknuckles]

Yeap, sounds familiar. I could have sworn remembering ash going across country, is that even possible?

With a big enough volcano I suppose it is. However, I don't remember ash falling on us in So Cal but then again I was only 9 when it happened so my memory might be off.

[aboutime]

Yeap, sounds familiar. I could have sworn remembering ash going across country, is that even possible?

jimnyc. If memory serves me correctly. Yes. The ash did cross the nation, but at a very high altitude in the JET STREAM. In fact. I believe I read reports that the dust, and ash eventually made it across the Atlantic in tiny portions and fell on Europe.

It was a kind of scary time when everyone must have been more than thankful it wasn't in their back yard.

[darin]

We had a dusting - eastern WA had TONS. Literally.

From Wikipedia

Strong high-altitude wind carried much of this material east-northeasterly from the volcano at an average speed of about 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). By 9:45 a.m. it had reached Yakima, Washington, 90 miles (140 km) away, and by 11:45 a.m. it was over Spokane, Washington.^[5] A total of 4 to 5 inches (100 to 130 mm) of ash fell on Yakima, and areas as far east as Spokane were plunged into darkness by noon where visibility was reduced to 10 feet (3.0 m) and 0.5 inches (13 mm) of ash fell.^[23] Continuing east, St. Helens' ash fell in the western part of Yellowstone National Park by 10:15 p.m. and was seen on the ground in Denver, Colorado, the next day.^[23] In time ash fall from this eruption was reported as far away as Minnesota and Oklahoma, and some of the ash drifted around the globe within about 2 weeks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_er...unt_St._Helens

[jimnyc]

So it did drift as far as I had thought. My brain still has a little life after all.

[KarlMarx]

Yeap, sounds familiar. I could have sworn remembering ash going across country, is that even possible?

Possible and has happened on a world wide scale. The volcano Tambora exploded in 1815, changing climate on a worldwide scale. The following year was labelled the year without a summer. Crops failed and the worst famine of the 19th century ensued.

In 1991, Mount Pinatubo in the Philipines erupted. The following year, we had the coolest summer in years. The weather people blamed Mount Pinatubo for it.

[jimnyc]

Possible and has happened on a world wide scale. The volcano Tambora exploded in 1815, changing climate on a worldwide scale. The following year was labelled the year without a summer. Crops failed and the worst famine of the 19th century ensued.

In 1991, Mount Pinatubo in the Philipines erupted. The following year, we had the coolest summer in years. The weather people blamed Mount Pinatubo for it.

Admittedly I did not know about either events. But that's fascinating, I'll have to read up, especially on the first one.

[aboutime]

Admittedly I did not know about either events. But that's fascinating, I'll have to read up, especially on the first one.

Just a side-note here for everyone reading this. Does anyone ever wonder why AL GORE always managed to Never mention volcanic eruptions that take place around the world...all the time, when he tried, and failed to convince us about Global Warming????

[Gaffer]

Anything done by man will be dwarfed by just one volcano. There's one erupting in the Philippines now and another is Mexico. Expect climate changes over the next year or two and it won't be caused by man. In the big scheme of things, man is insignificant.

[aboutime]

Anything done by man will be dwarfed by just one volcano. There's one erupting in the Philippines now and another is Mexico. Expect climate changes over the next year or two and it won't be caused by man. In the big scheme of things, man is insignificant.

Gaffer. Do you know what that really means? Al Gore will start losing money!

[Little-Acorn]

The blast had a force 400 times the size of the atomic bomb that levelled Hiroshima.