When it comes to nature’s wrath, the Pacific Northwest has seen
it all these last couple months: record snow, bitter cold wind,
historic floods. Now our neighbor to the north is looking at
something a little hotter: the anticipated eruption of the Mt.
Redoubt volcano. The Alaska volcano last blew its top in
December 1989 (see pictures), flooding a valley and dropping a
layer of ash on nearby Anchorage. Lately it’s been shaking and
rumbling, signs of imminent eruption. Scientists at the Alaska
Volcano Observatory have been watching it since the weekend. And
so, it turns out, has the public. Two webcams have been set up
to monitor the mountain. And in a particularly Web-savvy touch,
observatory staff are sending out updates on Twitter. Hard to
believe we used to rely on TV and radio news to hear about
breaking weather events. Now you can hear straight from
meteorologists – and from nature itself.