La Soufrière volcano on St.

Weather satellites have captured dozens of eruptions since the volcano first blew its top last week, ash now spreading hundreds of miles eastward and extinguishing the sun in Barbados.

About 16,000 people evacuated from communities close to the volcano Thursday before the first eruption Friday.

The sputtering volcano has spewed thousands of tons of ashen fine particulate matter miles into the atmosphere, captured by the GOES east weather satellite, which peers down from 22,236 miles above the Earth’s surface.

The satellite captured the first eruption at 8:41 a.m.

Closer to the eruption site, volcanic lightning flickered within the ash cloud, indicative of extreme turbulence and friction within the rapidly ascending particulate plume.

The Associated Press reported that “damage was extensive in the island’s Northeast region,” based on an account from St.

Satellites indicated that 10 eruptions had occurred since midnight Saturday.

The sulfuric acid produced from volcanic aerosols can also speed the destruction of upper-atmospheric ozone.