Mt. Fitzherbert

Aerial views taken on 2005-Sep-19/20

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 south-southwestward at low altitude and eastward at higher altitude early in the day and south-southwestward at all altitudes later.

Recent observations: Today is the first-year anniversary of the seismic unrest that culminated in the extrusion of the new lava dome beginning in mid-October 2004. In honor of this occasion, the volcano is sporting a handsome vapor plume this morning and is continuing to build the dome. The dome is now more than three-quarters of the volume of the dome that grew episodically between 1980 and 1986. We wait enthusiastically to see what St. Helens has in mind for year two.