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A volcano in southern Iceland, near Grindavik, in spectacular fashion Monday night following weeks of warning signs, including thousands of earthquakes.

Iceland's Meteorological Office  the eruption opened an approximately 2.5-mile-long fissure and created lava fountains up to 98 feet high.

Last month, the 3,400 residents of the fishing village of Grindavík, the town nearest the volcano on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula,  in anticipation of the pending eruption.

The meteorological office reported Tuesday that the southernmost point of the erupting volcano was about 1.86 miles from the town, and that the eruption's intensity was weakening. The lava also appeared to be flowing away from Grindavík. 

There had been concerns an eruption could last weeks, but , Iceland's meteorological office said "no volcanic activity was observed" and that it appears "as though there is no activity in the craters." 

Here are some of the extraordinary images of the eruption: