A Volcanic Danger Still Looms Over the State of Texas

While Texas might not have any active volcanos today, there's still a chance to be harmed by volcanic activity (and no we're not talking about the sleeping Yellowstone volcano either). No this week showed that, even if an active volcano is MILES away, we can still be threatened by it. And it wasn't one in the United States, it was in Mexico.

Mexico's Popocatépetl Volcano gave Texas a very rare volcanic alert on Wednesday, October 30, 2024.

While the Popocatépetl volcano (which is 43 miles from Mexico City) is over 1,000 miles away from Texas, the volcano erupted during the week. As a result, it spewed just enough ash into get into the atmosphere that, yes, did reach the skies into South Texas. Not only that, the area received a very rare VAA alert; or a Volcanic Ash Alert.

While this is not as alarming as say an actually eruption reaching Texas, the ash from volcanos is still extremely hot & can cause serious harm to your body if you breathe it in. There's also the risk of serious damage to property, the water supplies, wildlife & vegetation.

There are areas where you can find volcanic ash in Texas

If you travel to various areas in South Texas, you WILL find spots that volcanic ash has been spotted; for example Dr. Juan Gonzales discovered a large amount of ash in Rio Grande City in 2011. It's been believed that this ash has actually been there for millions of years (perhaps about 27 millions years ago) from an ancient caldera volcano in the Sierra Madre Occidental.

Even back in 1998, areas around Central Texas had TWO major areas with volcanic ash: the Claypits & the Somerville units within the Brazos River Valley.

We also can't forget the most famous ancient extinct volcano in Texas...the Pilot Knob in Austin.

Thankfully there weren't reports of Texans being affected by the 2024 Popocatépetl eruption, but this is still a scary reminder that Mother Nature can change things on a dime & anything can happen.

If you want to read more volcano stories, you can read about the supervolcano that's in New Mexico here.

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