Keeping Watch on Iceland Volcanic Activities

Monitoring Bárðarbunga and Holuhraun 

You might recall the major air traffic woes in 2010 and 2011 across Europe when ash from erupting volcanoes in Iceland grounded or diverted airlines.   This had a ripple effect on the travel industry, including the cruise segment.

When the Bardarbunga Volcano eruption over the weekend created lava fountains more than 50m (165ft) high, the Met Office in Iceland raised its ash warning for aviation to red, the highest level.  The level was later reduced to the second highest, orange.

Icelandic Met Office

Bárðarbunga - updated information 

Aviation colour code map

Because of the current seismic activity in nortwestern Vatnajökull, IMO has been allowed to publish the chapter Bárðarbunga System, an extract from a much larger work in progress.

Should Volcanic Ash clouds form, the following additional resources will be helpful:

Nine Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAAC) around the world are responsible for advising international aviation of the location and movement of clouds of volcanic ash.

Current Volcanic Ash Advisories (VAA) from London and Toulouse

• London VAA: Issued advisories (London) | Issued graphics
• Met Office Volcanic Ash Supplementary products: Concentration charts  | Annotated satellite images
• Toulouse VAA: Issued advisories (Toulouse)

 More information from NOAA about volcanoes.

Ash from the eruption of Grímsvötn (Credit: Icelandic Met Office)

London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC)

The London VAAC is an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) designated centre, responsible for issuing advisories for volcanic eruptions originating in Iceland and the north-eastern corner of the North Atlantic.

Cambridge scientists and PhD students are at the forefront of monitoring the activity of the Bárðarbunga volcano in Iceland.
Watch some amazing footage of the lava flows of the two active volcanic eruptions in Iceland.



   

 

Gusty UK Impacts Cruises

UK Experiencing

Gale Force Winds & Flooding

A nation that earlier in the week was celebrating their Queen's Diamond Jubilee, was forced indoors as Mother Nature brought Gale Force Winds and Rain to south-west England, the Midlands, the South East, and Wales Thursday and Friday.  The Met Office issued severe weather warnings and flood warnings and alerts for Wales and southern England as the weather system moved north-east.

Cruise Ships Impacted

MSC Opera, which was scheduled to dock Friday morning local time (GMT) in Southampton, made it into port at 4 p.m.  The adverse weather conditions and focus on passenger safety prompted the delay which threatened to impact the 8-Night Baltic & Northern Europe cruise departure.

Costa NeoRomantica was unable to dock in Dover, the ship's turn-around port, Friday as scheduled.

Instead, the ship  was redirected to Amsterdam to offload passengers from the current cruise and pick up those scheduled to sail on the next, also an 8-night Baltic & Northern Europe cruise. Passengers on both itineraries were being shuttled by air at the cruise line's expense.  No further delays were expected.

Weather Improving   

The Met Office forecast called for improving conditions on Saturday feeling warmer with some sunny spells.  Some areas however,especially northern England and mid and north-west Wales, will continue to see rainfall and flood warnings remain for many parts of the UK.

More information about the unusual weather for June:

BBC: Bad weather and flood warnings as UK hit by strong winds

Met Office: Stormy end to the week

Has Weather Ever Impacted Your Cruise?

We had a June departure scheduled from Dover, England one year where our ship was diverted to Southampton due to strong winds, similar to those of this weekend.   Once again, the cruise line handled the logistics for passengers so that they could get home or join their cruise.

What weather-related cruise stories do you have?  We'd love to hear your stories and how the cruise lines handled the situation.    As Hurricane Season gets into full swing, we can expect more weather-related itinerary changes.  We'll do our best to keep our readers informed as we have in the past.

Severe Winter Weather in Europe and Beyond

Nuns having fun: Sisters take pictures
in the Vatican's St Peter's Square

Vatican - Rome, Italy 
Blanketed by Snow  

The top picture appeared in the Mirror story entitled Snow Pictures: Winter weather moves in on UK as Europe shivers. Click the link for more pictures.

The lower picture was taken last Spring when we toured the Vatican during our Mediterranean & Greek Isles Cruise.

Impacting Transportation 

Motorists have been urged to take extra care in treacherous conditions as snow across much of the UK turns to ice.

The Met Office has issued nine warnings for ice after disruption to road, rail and air travel following up to 16cm (6in) of snow in some areas.

Half of the 1,300 scheduled flights at Heathrow were cancelled and some trains and Tube services also disrupted. Almost 400 transatlantic passengers are stranded overnight in Ireland after six London-bound flights were diverted.

Ice is likely to be a hazard on roads and pavements across parts of southeast Wales and much of England, except the southwest potentially leading to the risk of disruption to travel on Monday morning. Fog patches are also likely to form overnight in many areas, adding to the risk of disruption to travel in parts of the UK.

BBC News - In pictures: Europe snowstorms 

BBC News - Europe snow: Your pictures
The Telegraph Readers' snow photos

As Europe is hit with one of its worst winter storms in decades, much of the United States is experiencing unseasonably warm weather and no snow. Colorado and Nebraska was hit by a major winter storm over the weekend, snarling transportation in that part of the country.

If you are flying internationally, be sure to check with your airline to see if your flights have been impacted by this weather system that has been impacting Europe for several days now.