Lightning in the Ash Cloud
When an Icelandic volcano erupted in 2010, photographers caught lightning forking through its ash cloud.
What was reported
In April 2010 the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted beneath its ice cap, sending a huge cloud of ash into the sky that shut down air travel across Europe for days. At night, photographers captured lightning crackling through the dark plume above the glowing crater.
Volcanic lightning has been described since ancient times; Pliny the Younger mentioned it during the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Explanations offered
As ash, ice and rock fragments collide in the plume, they build up electric charge, much as in a thunderstorm, until it discharges as lightning. Researchers now use the lightning to monitor eruptions and estimate how much ash a volcano is releasing.
- When
- April 2010
- Where
- Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland
- Witnesses
- Photographers and people across Iceland
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.