Dear Tom,
What are the hazards associated with an erupting volcano?
Robert Allen, Chicago
Dear Robert,
The arsenal of destructive elements that volcanoes can bring to bear is grouped into five general categories: the volcano’s ash plume (millions of tons of hot gases and pulverized rock that blast several miles skyward); lava flows (slow-moving miles-long rivers of molten rock); pyroclastic flows (superheated (800(degrees)F+) ground-hugging but airborne avalanches of volcanic gas, ash, pumice and rock fragments that surge down and miles away from the volcano during an eruption); lahars (huge mudflows of volcanic debris and water that blast through valleys surrounding the volcano); flank collapse (a massive landslide occurring when the side of the volcano collapses).
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
