By Eric Leister, Meteorologist
August 23,2014; 7:54PM,EDT
The Bardarbunga volcano could be counting down toward impacting on millions of air travelers.
The aviation eruption threat level for Bardarbunga was raised to red on Saturday, the highest level according to the Iceland Meteorological Office (IMO).
The level had been holding at orange since being increased to that threshold on Monday. This occurred following several earthquakes in the past week, including the strongest quake measured in the region since 1996.
The headline on the IMO official website on Saturday stated, "It is believed that a small subglacial lava-eruption has begun under the Dyngjujokull glacier. The aviation color code for the Bardarbunga volcano has been changed from orange to red."
This means that the eruption is taking place beneath the ice, and it may have begun to melt it.
They went on to say that, "Data from radars and web cameras is being received, showing no signs of changes at the surface."
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In 2010, the Eyjafjallajokull eruption in Iceland spewed ash into European Airspace, leading to thousands of flight cancellations which impacted millions.
Airlines lost almost $2 billion due to the canceled flights, according to Bloomberg News.
A
plume of ash rises from a volcano erupting under the Eyjafjallajokull
glacier, Hvolsvollur, Iceland, Wednesday, May 5, 2010. A new wave of
dense volcanic ash from Iceland snarled air traffic Wednesday in Ireland
and Scotland and threatened to spill into the air space of England. (AP
Photo/Brynjar Gauti)Additionally, the Croke Park Classic, a college football game between Penn State University and the University of Central Florida in Dublin, Ireland, on Aug. 30 could be impacted if Bardarbunga erupts.
Both schools, along with thousands of fans, are expected to arrive in Dublin beginning early next week. A UCF spokesperson told the Associated Press that school officials are monitoring the situation.
Upper-level winds will generally be north to northwest across the region through Sunday which would transport any ash toward Ireland and the United Kingdom if an eruption was to occur.
By the middle of next week, upper-level winds are currently projected to shift and would direct any ash around a ridge of high pressure to the North Sea and southern Scandinavia.
Current indications point toward the winds shifting again later in the week toward Greenland.
AccuWeather.com meteorologists will be monitoring the potential for any ash to get wrapped around a storm system and be drawn back into the northern Atlantic toward the weekend of Aug. 30 to 31.
AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski contributed to the content of this story.
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