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 east-southeastward early in the day and southward later.

Recent observations: The volcano is obscured by clouds this morning, but weather forecasts suggest that clear, dry weather should return soon. If so, we plan to install GPS instruments on the new lava dome, conduct gas measurements, collect rock samples, gather new aerial photographs, and repair radio systems. At present, seismicity at the volcano is relatively quiet, with repetitive quakes occurring about once every few minutes. In conjunction with the relatively quiet seismicity, GPS instruments show that displacement of the old lava dome has slowed over the past several days. Such relative quiescence has been observed before in this eruption and does not mean that it is ending.