Popocatépetl ash falls across Tlaxcala 23 November 2009

Popocatépetl volcano had an active 24 hours over 21 and 22 November, reports CENAPRED, Mexico’s Centro Nacional de Prevención de Desastres (CENAPRED bulletins for November can be found by searching via this archive page). A magnitude 2 volcano-tectonic earthquake was recorded and there were four small eruptive events during the 24 hours preceding 11:00 local time on 22 November, the most significant of which, occuring at 18:31 local time on 21 November, produced an ash column of 3.5 km altitude. The image above, from CENAPRED’s Popocatépetl webcam to the north of the volcano, shows the situation at 18:38 local time, with incandescence and ash emissions clearly visible.

Ashfall was reported to the north and east, across the state of Tlaxcala. The Mexican press (see links below) reports that ash covered vehicles and roads in 38 municipalities in Tlaxcala, but that ash quantities were ‘minor’ and that no problems resulted. Following this event, CENAPRED reports that the volcano returned to its normal conditions.

Since then things have indeed been quieter, with Popocatépetl producing a number of low-intensity eruptions of water vapour and gas with little no ash . The alert level for Popocatépetl remains at Level 2, Yellow (Amarillo). The webcam image above shows the volcano releasing a thin, mainly steam, plume at 10:41 local time today.

News
Caen cenizas del Popocatépetl sobre al menos 40 municipios de Tlaxcala – La Jornada, 23 November 2009
Cae ceniza volcánica en 38 municipios de Tlaxcala – Milenio, 23 November 2009
Reportó el Cenapred la caída de ceniza en Atlixco, Huejotzingo y Tlaxcala el sábado pasado – La Jornada de Oriente, 23 November 2009
Registra Don Goyo fumarola de 3 kilómetros de altura – El Sol de Cuautla, 23 November 2009

Information
Global Volcanism Program: Popocatépetl – summary information for Popocatépetl (1401-09=)
CENAPRED – volcano monitoring information from CENAPRED