Old Faithful geyser erupts during thunderstorm

A thunderstorm hits Yellowstone Park just as visitors to the National Park arrive to watch the Old Faithful geyser erupt.
The storm was strong enough that the park rangers suggested quite strongly that everyone take shelter.
We travelled from Auckland, New Zealand and drove up from Denver in Colorado up through Wyoming to visit the park. We weren't going inside till we had seen her blow!
Copyright Bradley White / Ambrose 2016 ©
Not for broadcast without permission.
Discovered in 1870 by the Washburn Expedition, Old Faithful geyser was named for its frequent eruptions - which number more than a million since Yellowstone became the world’s first national park in 1872.
Basic prediction of Old Faithful is dependent upon the duration of the previous eruption. During visitor centre hours, geyser statistics and predictions are maintained by the naturalist staff. People speak of the average time between eruptions. This is misleading. The mathematical average between eruptions of Old Faithful is currently 74 minutes, but it doesn’t like to act average! Intervals can range from 60-110 minutes. Visitors can check for posted prediction times in most buildings in the Old Faithful area.
Old Faithful can vary in height from 100-180 feet with an average near 130-140 feet. This has been the historical range of its recorded height. Eruptions normally last between 1.5 to 5 minutes.
The famous geyser currently erupts around 20 times a day and can be predicted with a 90 percent confidence rate within a 10 minute variation. Prior to the 1959 earthquake, Old Faithful erupted 21 times per day. That’s a significant decrease in activity for geologists tracking each eruption, but to visitors seeing one or two eruptions . . . it looks just fine.
Scientists estimate that the amount ranges from 3,700 gallons (for a short duration of 1.5 minutes) to 8,400 gallons (for a longer duration of 4.5 minutes).
During an eruption, the water temperature at the vent has been measured at 204°F (95.6°C). The steam temperature has been measured above 350°F!

[@rippi37]

Intriguing...cool video Bradley. Would've been great to witness . Thanks

[@aDIYCarGuy]

For some reason I thought it said "Old Faithful geyser erupts darude sandstorm"

[@rippi37]

...lol..