Surprisingly, Mount Etna sets off a great new paroxysm, in the late morning of February 21st.

Semi covered by clouds, the volcano was affected by a very rapid rise of magma that gave off high fountains of lava and a notable pyroclastic cloud that rose several kilometers above the craters.

Pushed by the north-west wind, the ash cloud pushed on the coastal strip between Giarre and Catania. The ash poured in large amounts on the towns of Acireale, Milo, Zafferana Etnea, Valverde but only touched Catania. For safety purposes, the airport was closed for a few hours, so to prevent the planes in transit from being damaged by the cloud.

Also in this case, the eruption lasted only a few hours and left further changes in the South East crater already heavily damaged by the previous paroxysms. Today it is marked by numerous fractures. The escaping lava stream headed south, stopping near the Barbagallo Craters.