On a clear Sunday morning in Costa Rica, the Turrialba volcano clouded the skies surrounding its crater with an ash and smoke eruption that started at 04:55 am and lasted until 05:45. Strong winds wafting around the surface crater did not allow the dark ash column to rise more than 200 meters in the air; however, the direction of the airstream transported volcanic ash past the province of Cartago in the direction of the Central Valley.

As of 9:00 am, officials from the Directorate of Civil Aviation had not made a determination as to whether they would restrict flight operations at the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), located in the province of Alajuela. Thus far in 2015, volcanic activity has caused airport closures and dozens of flight cancellations on two occasions.

Residents of San Rafael and Santo Domingo in Heredia, Coronado, and Curridabat woke up with the unpleasant scent of rotten eggs, which indicates the presence of sulfur dioxide molecules in the air, a byproduct of the eruption. At this time, there are no reports of heavy ash accumulation.

As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star in recent months, the Turrialba volcano is clearly in a very active period, and geologists from the Observatory on Volcanology and Seismology as well as scientists from the National Seismology Network have estimated that lava is rising within this colossus, and the current level may be just a few hundred meters from the surface.

Although residents of the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish initials: GAM) are getting used to the smell of sulphur in the morning, residents of the Coronado canton were concerned that the incoming ash and the strong odor would ruin their traditional ox cart parade, which was scheduled for Sunday morning.