Mt. Fitzherbert

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that any ash clouds rising above the crater rim today would drift southeast.

Recent observations: Mount St. Helens is hidden by clouds this morning. Weather forecasts for Columbus Day indicate sunny weather and excellent opportunities to view the crater. Data from deformation-monitoring instruments located on the 1980-86 and 2004-2006 lava domes indicate that extrusion of the new lava dome continues, despite relatively low seismicity levels. Mount Rainier"s M 4.5 earthquake at about 7:50 PM last night registered on the Mount St. Helens seismic network.