Mt. Fitzherbert

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that any ash clouds that rise above the crater rim today would drift initially along somewhat westward trajectories and shift later in the day to more northwestward to northward trajectories.

Potential ash hazards to aviation: Under current eruptive conditions, small, short-lived explosions may produce ash clouds that exceed 30,000 feet in altitude. Ash from such events can travel 100 miles or more downwind.

Recent observations: Although clouds partly obscure the volcano this morning, the crater is visible and the volcano is emitting a moderate steam plume. The recent storms have coated the volcano in snow, and we can probably expect continued steaming in the near future. When weather permits, we will sling new instruments into the crater to replace those destroyed earlier in the month.