Mt. Fitzherbert

Crater views taken on 2005-Jul-23/25

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 southeastward, except at low altitude this morning when they could also drift westward.

Recent observations: Rockfalls continue to occur from the steep spine on the growing lava dome. One happened a short time ago and produced a diffuse ash cloud visible from the metropolitan area that just cleared the crater rim. Last evening's (shortly after 9 p.m. PDT) M=5.6 earthquake in southwestern Montana was clearly recorded on the seismic stations around Mount St. Helens as a several-minutes-long signal. Several crews are at work in the field. A program starts today to systematically sample spring waters from the crater and flanks of the volcano. Volcanic gases can be dissolved in ground water and slightly increase levels of chloride, sulfate, and other chemicals. Heat can also raise the temperature of the water.