Dirty Thunderstorms and VOG

This is the color of the air we are breathing today!

Adding insult to injury! As if a volcanic eruption destroying your home and neighborhood, leaving people homeless, isn't enough, now we are experiencing more new phenomena -- at least for the Puna District on the Big Island of Hawaii.


VOG  -- Vog is a hazy mixture of sulfur dioxide gas (SO2) and particles (PM2.5) originating from Kīlauea Volcano. Sensitivity to vog varies, so individuals need to protect themselves as necessary. People with pre-existing medical conditions are expected to be at highest risk for health effects, depending on the amount of emissions, distance away from the vent, and wind direction from day to day.  Learn more about protecting yourself here:  Click to learn about VOG

Example of what it looks like (not local) but what we been experiencing this morning (photo obviously was taken at night)

DIRTY THUNDERSTORMS --Some sources are referring to today's weather as Dirty Thunderstorms. I read that Dirty thunderstorms earn their name from the ash, rock fragments, and other ejecta which collide during a volcanic eruption and generate static electricity within the plume. or that it can be caused by ash and ice particles colliding with volcano plume, creating static charges. Interestingly, the lightening isn't coming from the sky, but instead, generated in the ash cloud coming from the fissure 8. The process is called Charge Separation.

TODAY:  This is a Civil Defense message for Monday, July 2, 2018 at 1:00 in the afternoon. State of Hawaii Department of Health reports Elevated Gas Levels due to the ongoing eruptions and current weather in the lower East Rift and Pahoa area.  The National Weather Service forecast that light winds are causing Sulphur dioxide to fill in the area.  Northeast tradewinds will build in later today and push winds to the southwest through the rest of the week and improve air quality.

New HVO Video explains some unique weather patterns : New July 2 HVO Video