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 northeastward.

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: Clouds and rain obscure the volcano this morning. Since midnight Saturday, nearly 8 inches of rain have fallen at the mountain, raising river levels and increasing flow from the crater. In the past few days, 8 “large” earthquakes (M2 to 3) have occurred. Similar “swarms” of large quakes occurred in November and December. Those in December were attributed largely to breaking up of the whaleback. When weather allows, crews will conduct observation flights and deploy more equipment to the crater. On a historical note, today marks the 25th anniversary of the first steam explosion of Mount St. Helens in 1980, an event that unequivocally showed its reawakening from a 123-year slumber.