Scientists begin to pin down origin of mystery ash in Washington and Oregon

Scientists begin to pin down origin of mystery ash in Washington and Oregon

A deposit of mystery ash has Washington and Oregon puzzled.

An unknown ashy element is falling from the sky over Washington and Oregon, where the locals have dubbed it “milky rain”. A rain storm they are experiencing may have moved through a cloud of ash on its way in from the Pacific, picking some up before dumping it in the northwest. Walla Walla County Emergency officials released a statement saying that the mystery ash was most likely carried through global wind currents from a January 26th eruption out of Volcano Shiveluch in Northeastern Russia. If this theory is correct, then Washington and Oregon might be in for some more “milky rain” because just this morning there was another possible strong eruption from Shiveluch.

The volcano in Russia on the Kamchatka Peninsula is not the only theorized culprit of the northwest region’s mystery ash. There are other active volcanos that could have deposited the ash. There is an active volcano 2,000 miles away down the west coast of North and Central America in Colima, Mexico. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam says that the jet stream could have carried ash from this volcano up to Washington and Oregon. Both volcanoes are quite far from where the ash came to rest, and the one that experts say is most likely the offender is Shiveluch, the farthest, at 4,000 miles away.

It is still uncertain if the ash is volcanic at all. Other possible explanations include dust picked up by high winds the night before, and leftover ash from last year’s wildfires in Oregon and part of Idaho. Only a chemical examination will reveal exactly what the mystery substance is, and also where it came from.

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