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 principally to the northeast and east.

Recent observations: The volcano is clearly visible from Johnston Ridge this morning, but a thickening cloud cover threatens to obscure the view later in the day. The volcano’s eruptive behavior remains quiescent and unchanged. The extruding new dome continues to advance westward at a rate of about one meter per day, and very small earthquakes continue to occur roughly once each several minutes. Field crews took advantage of yesterday’s fine weather to resuscitate ailing cameras and instruments and to observe and photograph the new dome. The most active part of the dome (called spine 7) appears to have grown in height and steepness since the last close-up observations were made on April 4, although this interpretation is preliminary, and photogrammetric analysis will be required to confirm it.