These incredible images were sent to Morning Express with Robin Meade from a friend of the show, Shawn McCarthy. He's a teacher at the Department of Defense school at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy. He can see Mt. Etna from his house and was awakened early Tuesday morning by the sound of the volcano erupting. 

McCarthy says the winds were from the southwest, so the ash cloud headed away from the airport and it was able to remain open. He says these types of eruptions generally happen at an elevation and area where there is little or no population. McCarthy says the eruptions happen every year or two, but are far more spectacular when viewed on a clear night or early morning.

We'd love to see your news and weather photos as well! The easiest way to share is by uploading to iReport and maybe you'll see them on HLN!

Morning Express with Robin Meade airs Monday through Friday at 6am ET on HLN.  Like the show on Facebook, follow us on Twitter: @MorningExp.