The recent volcanic eruption in Indonesia did not cool our climate

Many of our subscribers have asked me lately if the recent huge eruption of Mt. Sangeang Api in Indonesia would cool the planet like the massive eruption 23 years ago in June 1991 of Mt. Pinatubo in the Phil-ippines that sent global temperatures plummeting by more than a full degree Fahrenheit.

While the ash cloud from the May eruption of Mt. Sangeang Api did extend nearly 10 miles into the atmosphere and grounded planes in both Indonesia and Australia, it wasn't big enough to affect the global climate like Pinatubo and other major eruptions in previous centuries. Some localized temperature drops were seen, however, in the immediate days following the Mt. Sangeang Api eruption in Indonesia, but things warmed back up to normal in short order.

Indonesia has a whopping 130 active volcanoes and is located in the Pacific 'Ring of Fire.' It is entirely possible that a climate-changing eruption may happen sometime in the near future between now and 2020 in either Indonesia or the Philippines or, perhaps, in South America, Alaska or Iceland.

In answering other related questions concerning volcanoes:

* One of the biggest eruptions in Indonesia was Krakatoa, which erupted in August of 1883. That event created the loudest sound in human history. There were reports of people hearing the eruption as far as 3,000 miles away. In other words, if Krakatoa was in San Francisco, it would have been heard with perfect clarity in New York City.

* Another major eruption, the biggest in modern human history, was Mount Tambora, also located in Indonesia, back in 1815. The explosion was so massive that it contributed to the "Little Ice Age" in the 1800s. There were so much ash and sulphur poured into the atmosphere, that weather conditions were altered that led to "a year without a summer" in the Northeast and parts of England in 1816. Northern New England reported snowfall in every month in 1816 that led to widespread crop failures.

* The scientific community states that volcanic activity is not increasing, and hasn't been rising over the past several decades. However, no one can predict when the next eruption will occur. If we were to see another eruption like Mt. Tambora, then it would be likely that the Earth's temperature would fall by several degrees.

* We also can't forget about the supervolcanoes. The most famous one is located right under Yellowstone. Scientists are monitoring Yellowstone and other volcanoes and don't believe that a major devastating eruption is in our immediate future, but based on our wild cycles, anything can happen at any time.

NORTH IDAHO WEATHER REVIEW AND LONG-RANGE OUTLOOKS

We are still enjoying a delightful pattern weatherwise of 'sun and showers.' But, it seems as though we're beginning to see the showers taper off a bit after a wetter than normal first half of June with a normal month's precipitation in just the first 15 days.

Following some additional scattered showers and thunderstorms in the next week to 10 days, we should see temperatures soaring into the lower 90s sometime during late June or early July as high pressure builds back into our part of the country.

As mentioned earlier, the summer of 2014, thanks to a stationary ridge of high pressure camped over the Pacific Northwest, should be both warmer and drier than normal, about 'perfect' for most outdoor activities, if one wears a hat and lots of sunscreen for protection from the hot sun.

The current long-range outlook for this year's edition of the North Idaho Fair and Rodeo in late August still calls for mostly sunny and warm conditions, but not extremely hot. If El Nino gets rolling, then the upcoming fall season may be mild and wet.

Cliff Harris is a climatologist who writes a weekly column for The Press. His opinions are his own. Email sfharris@roadrunner.com