Saturday, February 8, 2014

Pyroclastic Tornadoes - Ouch!

Pyroclastic flows are the worst a volcano can do other than simply blowing up.  Debris at hundreds of degrees C go roaring down the side of the mountain at hundreds of miles an hour, carbonizing anyone in its path.

The Indonesian volcano Sinabung released a flow that killed 15 people and also spawned tornadoes.  

"The pyroclastic flow deposits red-hot material on the slope of the volcano. After a few minutes, air heated by the deposit establishes a convective regime and due to the speed of the rising air a series of small tornados (also spelled tornadoes) are formed. During daylight it is difficult to imagine how hot the deposit is. To see a pyroclastic flow deposit glowing at night from same location as present video one can view:"

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDJ4hmw9i6I

 

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