AccuWeather.com reports the ash plume threat from Iceland will continue through Sunday for Europe, according to AccuWeather.com meteorologists.
Upper-level winds will continue to travel into northern Europe, transporting the ash plume from the Eyjafjall volcano.
The greatest risk of ash to aviation will be the northern British Isles into parts of Norway, with some risk affecting other parts of Scandinavia, the UK and Ireland and parts of northern mainland Europe.
The ash plume threat will decrease into next week as the upper-level winds will shift more to the south.
The threat of volcanic ash traveling from Iceland has grounded flights in the UK and Ireland, Scandinavia and parts of mainland Europe Thursday.
The UK's Civil Aviation Authority has extended its restriction of all non-emergency flights in UK-controlled airspace until Friday, 7 a.m. BST at the earliest.
Swedish, Irish, Dutch and Belgian aviation authorities have also restricted air travel.
The grounding of flights in reaction to this threat is creating nightmares for airline passengers across other parts of Europe, including Scandinavia.
Rather than impairing visibility, the real threat with this volcano is the ash possibly affecting airplane engines and control systems. Volcanic ash is abrasive, and it can scratch windshields and accumulate in inside an engine, which could degrading the performance, perhaps to the point of failure.
More flights across Europe could become impacted today as the air flowing away from Iceland could spread any ash that may be present to the south and east towards mainland Europe.
The Eyjafjall volcano erupted Tuesday evening (EDT) under a glacier in southern Iceland. Fears of flooding from the melting glacier immediately prompted the evacuation of up to 800 people.
Volcanic ash has caused airplane incidents in the past. As detailed by the United States Geological Survey, ash almost caused KLM Flight 867 (a 747 jetliner filled with 231 passengers) to crash on Dec. 15, 1989. The plane had passed through the ash cloud of Redoubt Volcano in Alaska, causing all four engines to fail.
Fortunately after five minutes, the crew was able to restart the engines. The plane during that time had dropped from an altitude of 27,900 feet to 13,300 feet. KLM Flight 867 then landed safely in Anchorage, but required $80 million in repairs.
By AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski with contributions from writers Gina Cherundolo and Carly Porter
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