Two and a half days since the last one, another lava fountaining episode or paroxysm took place at the New SE crater, following more or less the same usual pattern:
Strombolian activity resumed at the New SE crater starting at 11:30 pm local time last night 6 July. After a phase of intense explosive activity until around midnight, it shifted gradually to lava fountaining of several hundred meters height and producing an eruptive column reaching about 5 km above sea level.
Ash and lapilli fell on the south side of the volcano including Tremestieri and Nicolosi towns. Shortly after 2 am this morning, the lava fountain activity ended, replaced by a weak Strombolian activity with minor ash emissions. The activity also produced a small lava flow on the southern flank of the Southeast Crater cone, which traveled until about 2800 m elevation.
As of now, it seems the volcano is completely quiet again, probably only to return to maybe yet another paroxysm in the near future; if the current rhythmic pattern persists, it could probably be expected to occur during Friday…
