On Sicily’s western coast, the volcano Etna decided to bring the heat for the start of summer. After a fairly quiet few months, the volcano roared back over the weekend with explosions, new fissures and long lava flows. Etna watchers will be keeping on eye on the volcano to see if this is the start of a set of major eruptions like we saw in 2013.
This is actually the second significant eruption from Etna this year. Back in February, the volcano produced lava flows that covered over 1 cubic kilometer (~250 acres) up on the southeast flank of the volcano. This was followed by some ash and splattering lava from 3 vents near the summit in May — signs that new magma was definitely very near the surface.
Lava flows from a new fissure of Etna, seen on May 30, 2019. (Credit: Boris Behncke (INGV), used by permission)
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