The recent volcanic activity the past few days at St. Augustine Volcano has yet to affect Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport directly with ashfall, but a number of flights in and out have been diverted or cancelled, as wind trajectories can easily take volcanic ash north and eastward into the Anchorage area. Winds are forecast to blow north to east over the next few days.

According to KTUU (Anchorage) TV news reports, schools in Homer, Alaska were closed Friday when a light dusting of ash fell on the town.

St. Augustine Volcano dominates its eponymous uninhabited sixty-square mile island at the mouth of Cook Inlet...the bay that leads about 150 miles inland to the city of Anchorage. On Friday the 13th, the 4,134-foot conical mountain had five explosive series of eruptions, sending ash over 20,000 feet into the sky. The western shore of Cook Inlet hosts a handful of larger volcanoes that are closer to Anchorage and have been known every few years or so to spout ash that disrupts air travel in the region.

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/images/dbimages/...7221956_1_8.jpg

^this photo taken Jan. 12th by Chris Waythomas, Alaska Volcano Observatory/United States Geological Service

http://www.avo.alaska.edu/images/dbimages/...7124557_1_8.jpg

^this photo taken Jan. 12th by Game McGimsey, United States Geological Service

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^this photo was taken on July 31, 2003 by Steve J. Smith

*Flyingcanuck runs around screaming in sheer sarcastic terror*
Is volcanic ash really that terrible? During the forest fire season a few years ago we could look directly at the sun at mid-day and it would hurt your eyes less than looking directly at a light bulb, that's how smokey it was. We didn't stay inside all day and I was fine.

Interesting question. I wonder what based the decision as to why schools in Homer were closed. Volcanic ash (gritty silica) is certainly very abrasive on mechanical parts, so it is understandable why you wouldn't want to drive or fly through an ashfall. A lot of us in the Pacific Northwest can relate to experience of both forest fire ashfall and Mt. St. Helens ashfall & we indeed know the difference of the texture, but how it affects our resperatory systems is probably two completely different scientific explanations.

Volcanic ash is EXTREMELY dangerous to air travel. It may look like smoke to you, but it is actually very very tiny porous rock. It gets in the engines and melts around everything and clogs it, it also strips paint and damages airframes. I mean, it's like flying through a rock storm and you can imagine how much that would suck, lol :D

Not to mention it will sand-blast a windscreen, rendering a nice "frosted" effect.

By the way, you can't see through it after that. Otherwise, it sure is pretty....

Yes, I now how dangerous it can be to air travel (thinking back to the BA747 incident), but I was referring to the closure of schools. What effect does it have on our respiratory system?