Geologists have just announced on Sunday that Mount Redoubt, from Alaska, has yet to show any intentions of erupting, even if groans and steam were still released. The volcano did not show any dramatic burst of energy, even if it's more likely to erupt than not. As a precaution, Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage was moving five C-17 cargo planes to McChord Air Force Base in Washington.

 

Geologists began to notice a growing area of vigorous steaming on Saturday, at the 7,100-foot level on the north side of the mountain, and volcanic gas was also detected. Furthermore, a hole in a glacier clinging to the north side of the volcano had doubled in size since Friday, spanning the length of two football fields.

 

This particular area is just below a dome that formed the last time Redoubt blew in 1990. Almost everyone is sure that Mount Redoubt will ultimately erupt, and this would send an ash cloud about 100 miles northeast toward Anchorage or onto communities on the Kenai Peninsula. The eruption in December 1989 sent an ash cloud 150 miles that flamed out the jet engines of a KLM flight carrying 231 passengers on its way to Anchorage, but pilots managed to land safely.

 

After the observatory detected last week a steep increase in earthquake activity below the volcano, it decided to upgrade its alert level to orange, the stage before full eruption. It's hard to predict when or if Mount Redoubt will erupt, because each volcano acts different and has its own level of seismicity. It remains to be seen if it will finally erupt.