Iceland Volcano Stranding Oklahomans

Volcanic ash blanketing parts of Iceland and canceling flights in Europe are leaving Oklahomans stranded.

Friday, April 16th 2010, 5:30 pm

By: News On 6

By Dan Bewley and Terry Hood, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- Volcanic ash continues to blanketing parts of Iceland.

That's affecting Oklahomans who are stranded because of canceled flights in Europe.

It also has some meteorologists worried.

"This plume of ash, this microscopic particles, ejected into the atmosphere probably about five to seven miles got caught up in the upper air jet stream and so it moved from Iceland, over the Atlantic, portions of Norway, the United Kingdom, Germany," said Alan Crone, News On 6 Meteorologist.

Thousands of flights have been canceled and people in Eastern Europe and Russia are being asked to stay indoors and wear masks and protective goggles while outside.

The eruption also has meteorologists keeping track to see how the cloud of volcanic debris impacts the climate.

"If you get enough ash in the atmosphere, and particularly sulfur dioxide, it can act to cool or reflect the sunlight coming into the atmosphere," said Steve Amburn, The National Weather Service.

If that happens, the climate cools and temperatures drop.

But News on 6 Meteorologist Alan Crone says the cloud is slowly starting to disappear.

It looks like it's going to be an issue for the next day or two, eventually this will start to thin out. One interesting note though, it's still bubbling up and there's still more ash that's being put into the air," Crone said.

The National Weather Service says the black plume may look menacing but the fact that it's beginning to scatter means the global impact may not be as bad as feared.

Global climate? No, not at this point is expected to change at all. This eruption looks like it's going to be too small for that and it would have to put a lot of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, the upper atmosphere," Amburn said.

The European air traffic agency says only 11,000 flights were scheduled today. Normally, there are 28,000 flights.

Delays will probably continue through Saturday.