Mt. Fitzherbert
USGS Update 2005-Dec-10 08:50
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 westward to west-northwestward at low elevations and broadly northwestward to southeastward at higher elevations.
Recent observations: Clear conditions at the volcano this morning provide optimal viewing conditions. Lava continues to extrude and grow the dome. A rockfall off the dome at 6:32 this morning sent a small ash plume above rim level, which then rapidly dissipated. Further rockfalls could generate similar plumes later today, which may be visible from the metropolitan area. Seismicity continues its ongoing procession of tiny “drumbeat” earthquakes about every one to two minutes. Overall, the rate of seismic energy release remains relatively low, and other monitoring data are within the range of their typical recent values.