This paper examines the events surrounding the eruption of Soufriere Hills volcano on 1718 September. After a day of strong activity, the volcano explosively erupted near 0345 UTC 18 September. This coincided with the start of the eclipse of the GOES8 geostationary satellite, during which no images were possible. Various communications problems prevented TPC from receiving news of the eruption until 0700 UTC. Before this time, an aircraft encountered the ash plume. Satellite images after the eclipse showed that the ash plume moved several hundred miles downwind by 1100 UTC. The eruption highlights limitations in the current aviation warning system for volcanic ash: a) difficulties in tracking an ash plume during a satellite eclipse, and b) difficulties in disseminating/receiving information that would have compensated for a) during strong explosive eruptions
The 8th Conference on Aviation, Range, and Aerospace Meteorology