Volcanic Ash, Guam
- When
- February 4, 8:00 AM SST to 4:00 PM SST
- Where
- Guam forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
Volcanic Ash in Guam, February 4, 2005
Dozens of students were sent home from several Guam public schools after they became dizzy or nauseous from breathing volcanic haze. The volcanic haze, also known as "vog," was blown south over Guam from Anatahan volcano, and produced a strong sulphurous odor.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS GUA wrote it up.
Dozens of students were sent home from several Guam public schools after they became dizzy or nauseous from breathing volcanic haze. The volcanic haze, also known as "vog," was blown south over Guam from Anatahan volcano, and produced a strong sulphurous odor. Students complained of eye irritation, stomach aches, and vomiting. One school sent 22 students, while another sent home 33. Anatahan is located about 205 miles north-northeast of Guam, and about 80 miles north of Saipan.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS GUA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 4, 3:45 AM SST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 4, 3:45 AM SST, 4 hours 15 minutes before
AREA SYNOPTIC DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TIYAN GU 1 AM GUAM LST SAT FEB 5 2005 WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC BETWEEN THE EQUATOR AND 25N FROM 130E TO 180. A COLD FRONT ENTERS THE DISCUSSION AREA NEAR 25N175E AND EXTENDS SOUTHWESTWARD PAST WAKE TO 15N154E...WHERE IT CONTINUES ON AS A SHEAR LINE...PASSING SOUTHEAST OF GUAM...YAP...AND PALAU TO END NEAR 3N130E. CLOUDINESS AND SCATTERED LIGHT SHOWERS ARE OCCURRING ALONG AND UP TO 250 MILES NORTHWEST OF THIS BOUNDARY. THE TAIL END OF THE BOUNDARY JUST SOUTHWEST OF PALAU IS MORE ACTIVE. HERE...SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE FOUND WITHIN 80 MILES OF A LINE BEGINNING NEAR 5N130E AND ENDING NEAR 5N135E. A NEAR EQUATORIAL TROUGH EXTENDS EASTWARD FROM 4N147E TO 4N159E...THEN CONTINUES SOUTHEASTWARD TO THE EQUATOR AT 167E. WINDS CONVERGING INTO THE TROUGH ARE PRODUCING SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS BETWEEN THE EQUATOR AND 8N FROM 144E TO 161E. THIS AREA INCLUDES CHUUK AND POHNPEI.
Event by event
1 volcanic ash. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Volcanic Ash
- Ash from an eruption that fell on land or reduced visibility.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in Guam in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Guam, February 2005
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5441982.