Alaska Volcano Spews Ash Cloud High Enough to Draw Weather Service Warning for Pilots

A low-level ash plume from the Shishaldin Volcano captured in an Alaska Volcano Observatory webcam located NW of Mt. Shishaldin in Alaska at 10:33 a.m. AKDT on July 14, 2023. Matt Loewen/Alaska Volcano Observatory/U.S. Geological Survey via AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—An erupting volcano in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands sent a towering cloud of ash into the air Friday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue an inflight warning to pilots.

The Shishaldin Volcano began erupting July 11, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. A U.S. Coast Guard overflight confirmed lava erupted the same day within the summit crater.