Posted on

Observations for 2020 August 14


This time of year, arriving at Norris at 06:00 means it's still dark. Last month it was light for the drive from Madison Jct.

The parking lot was empty when we arrived, and over the next few hours a few people filtered in for the wait. The wind of the previous few days was gone, the sky was completely clear and there was little precipitation onto the platform.

The wait was pretty dull. No longer does it seem that New Crater/Steamboat has big, notable minors. Instead, the only sign of any progress seems to be that the South Vent becomes more voluminous and the platform to the left becomes wetter.

I'd just returned from a parking lot run less than ten minutes earlier, and was starting to read a book when suddenly the activity picked up. As with the 2020 August 03 eruption, there was no warning. Within seconds, the eruption was starting.

This eruption start seemed wider and not as tall as others I've seen. The wind direction was toward Echinus, so we never were in danger of getting wet. It took a while for the water to start down the North Vent's runoff channel, and none of the other channels under the switchback had water. North Vent only briefly went slightly gray, then was back to clean. Few rocks were thrown.

Later in the evening did go out for a nighttime One Burst Grand Eruption. It lasted long enough to insure no chance of a second burst.

Update:
Forgot to mention that on the drive back from Norris, I did see something erupting in T.Scott Bryan's Tangled Geysers group. I always glance over that way assuming the traffic allows for it. The feature was at least a meter tall, looking a lot like Old Tardy, and active the whole time it was visible.