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A volcano in Iceland that recently began erupting, spewing lava amid explosions from its depths, has also caused another strange natural phenomenon to occur—tornadoes.
A video posted to YouTube by drone photographer Martin Sanchez on July 24 shows the tornado spinning violently right next to a flow of explosive lava from the volcano.
“I have never seen this before in my life. I did capture the previous volcano eruptions here in Iceland but as a power drone pilot this was my first time flying a drone next to a Tornado and Volcano at the same time!” Sanchez told Newsweek.
Martin Sanchez
The volcano, named Litli-Hrútur—translating to Little Ram—began erupting on July 10. It’s actually part of a larger volcano, named Fagradalsfjall, which also erupted last summer, and the one before that, after an 800-year hiatus from activity.
As the Litli-Hrútur site began to erupt, lava and toxic gases including sulfur dioxide spilled out from a large fissure measuring about 2,600 feet. Since the eruption has eased, the fissure has shrunk to about 250 feet long, according to the NASA Earth Observatory.
The tornado likely formed as a result of the hot lava spewing from the fissure, heating the air directly above it, causing the air to rise and spin upwards in a spiral.
Martin Sanchez
“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 mile] or so near the surface,” David Smart, a tornado and storm researcher at University College London’s Hazard Centre, told Live Science.
“This seems to be a particularly well-formed and long-lived example which might imply that atmospheric conditions were particularly conducive on this day,” Smart said.
As well as the tornado, the volcano has been causing several explosions, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office. This is because pockets of methane in the lava formed from the lava flow passing over vegetation suddenly mix with oxygen and combust explosively.
💥Við gosstöðvarnar heyrast reglulega háværir hvellir. Ástæðan fyrir hvellunum eru metansprengingar.🌱Þegar hraun rennur yfir gróið svæði getur myndast…
“It mixes with oxygen and when it runs into its glow or flame from the fires there is an explosion,” the Meteorological Office explained in a translated Facebook post.
It warned those observing the lava flows that these explosions could be dangerous, urging people to steer clear.
The volcano shows no signs of stopping its nascent eruption yet. Shifting vent activity caused lava to spill to the north and west of the collapsing volcanic crater, while flow to the crater’s south has lessened. The flowing lava has also sparked a number of moss fires, exacerbated by the dry weather over the past few weeks.
Over 250 hectares of land have burned as a result, in the largest moss fire of modern records, according to the Icelandic Institute of Natural Science.
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