Mt. Fitzherbert

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim today would drift chiefly east-northeastward.

Recent observations: The volcano is obscured by clouds this morning. Data from field sites show that several inches of rain fell yesterday and last night and that streams draining the crater have high water flows. No lahars have been detected. The wet weather outlook for the rest of the week makes field work unlikely. Additional analysis of seismic and other data from about 3 a.m. Sunday morning, when two instruments on and near the new lava dome ceased functioning, suggests that a steam and ash emission occurred, perhaps accompanied by ejection of ballistic fragments. The event lasted about 18 minutes. During that time radio-telemetry signals from a few other instruments in the crater were interrupted temporarily, probably as the result of ash in the air.