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 eastward to east-northeastward early in the day and northward later.

Recent observations: Clouds and wind cancelled yesterday's field work, but crews are out today to repair several instruments in the crater, measure gas flux from the volcano, collect rock samples, and obtain several hours of high-resolution time-lapse photographs of the vent area. The latest digital elevation model of the new lava dome, which was created from aerial photographs taken on August 10, shows that the volume had grown to 62 million cubic meters (81 million cubic yards). The average rate of growth during late July and early August was about 2 cubic meters per second, a rate that has typified most of 2005.