Mt. Fitzherbert

January nightttime rockfalls and explosions have damaged three of the monitoring instruments in the Mount St. Helens crater. Those rockfalls from the new dome uncover momentary brilliance as the newly exposed hot rock glows incandescently. Come aboard and learn how the failure of some instruments provides a study of its own—if we can decipher the sequence of events.

SEATTLE (AP) — Growth of the new lava dome inside the crater of Mount St. Helens has gradually slowed and become less steady since it began in early October, scientists from the Cascade Volcano Observatory said Tuesday.

"The rate of dome growth has slowed since early October and the area in the crater that was deforming was (changing) much faster in early October than it is now," U.S. Geological Survey research hydrologist Jon Major said in a telephone conference update.