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 northeasterly.

Recent observations: Early morning pictures from the Sugarbowl camera indicate that dome growth continues, with continued slumping of the middle part of the new dome complex and westwards as well as vertical motion of the latest lava spine located at the western edge of the complex. Over the last week seismicity levels have gradually dropped from an earthquake every 5-10 minutes to one every 10-20 minutes. No other significant changes in seismicity or deformation have occurred over the last 24 hours. A rockfall yesterday evening at 1925 PDT created a small ash cloud that rose over the rim and was briefly visible from the Portland area before it rapidly dissipated to the northeast. Yesterday field crews installed more temporary seismic instruments in the northern part of the crater floor, repositioned several GPS spider stations on the western lobe of the crater glacier, recovered ash samples out of an ash spider placed on the southern side of the old dome, grabbed new rock samples from near the vent, and did geologic mapping along the flanks.