Thread by @WxNB_

This Sunday, January 15, will mark one year since the eruption of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcano shocked the world. I remember being awestruck by these images.

A short thread.

In the Volcanic Explosivity Index scale, the eruption was rated at least a VEI-5. It was the most powerful eruption since the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa with an estimated eq. TNT yield of 100-200 megatons, more than the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated.

Tonga volcano had the highest plume ever recorded. The column of ash reached almost 58km altitude (36 miles). After one hour, the cloud of volcanic ash was roughly 650km wide. For comparison, that's roughly size of mainland Spain. earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/149474/…

Different perspectives: The cloud of volcanic material over well-known land masses and coastlines to get a true sense of just how big the eruption was. reuters.com/graphics/TONGA…

This tweet went viral at the time…

https://twitter.com/wxnb_/status/1482708364635348992

Hunga-Tonga's eruption plume produced 400,000 lightning events on Jan. 15. "We were getting lightning rates of up to 5,000 to 5,200 events per minute" via @COweatherman - 1-min CG lightning plot via @ChurchillWx - reuters.com/graphics/TONGA…

https://twitter.com/COweatherman/status/1482350232255950848

The volcano’s immense eruption on January 15, 2022, produced such a shock that it generated a destructive tsunami across the Pacific, killing several people in Peru and sending a surge of seawater into harbours along the California coast.

3D reconstruction of the gigantic ash cloud from the January 15 Hunga #Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai #eruption created by @stim3on.

https://twitter.com/stim3on/status/1488949924737781762?s=46&t=3_5g3h1V4SdKzK-sdtfFTQ

The volcanic eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai was probably a once in a lifetime event - an event we won't forget anytime soon. Photos taken from aircraft observing the eruption on January 14, 2022.

Imagery from Himawari-8 (NICT/JMA), GK2A weather sat (@KMA_Skylove_eng), GOES-17 (@NOAASatellites), three of the most advanced weather satellites in orbit. Via @CIRA_CSU