National

Spectacular Lightning Show As Volcano Erupts In Chile

By Mark Memmott

Published June 7, 2011 at 10:36 AM PDT

This story was published more than 13 years ago.

Lightning over the Puyehue volcano, 500 miles south of Santiago, Chile, on Monday.

We do like the shows that volcanoes sometimes put on, as regular Two-Way readers know.

So we can't resist the photos and videos coming out of Chile, where the Puyehue-Cordon-Caulle volcano range has been erupting in recent days and lightning storms in the clouds of ash have been quite electrifying (pun intended).

Russia's RT News has been rolling out some of the best video.

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Several thousand people have been evacuated from the area. Meanwhile, the BBC reports that the ash has blanketed "the Argentine resort of Bariloche." And The Associated Press says most air travel to and from Argentina has been grounded.

Update at 3 p.m. ET. More On The Impact In Argentina:

According to Dow Jones Newswires, "flights to and from Argentina's busiest airports, Ezeiza and Aeroparque, have been canceled, rerouted or delayed. ... [And] Argentina's flagship carrier Aerolineas Argentinas said in a statement Tuesday that it has ceased all domestic and international flights until further notice. ... The two airports provide domestic and international connections to Argentina's capital Buenos Aires."

The MercoPress news agency of Uruguay reports that the ash cloud is expected to reach Buenos Aires today.

Meanwhile, CNN reports that "ash piled as high as 30 centimeters (about 1 foot) on highways through Patagonia. Local governments used machinery to clear the roads."

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