Mt. Fitzherbert

Aerial views taken on 2007-Mar-29

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 16:27 | Permalink

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 eastward.

Recent observations: Storm clouds preclude visual observation of the volcano this morning. Background seismicity remains at low levels, punctuated by intermittent M2 to M3 events and some rockfalls. No significant changes in eruptive activity have been noted in the past 24 hours.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:46 | Permalink

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 northeastward this morning, shifting to eastward by later in the day.

Recent observations: Mount St. Helens is visible this morning under partly cloudy skies following a beautiful spring day in the Northwest. Field crews took advantage of the nice weather yesterday to measure gas emissions from the volcano and to repair a remote camera installation. Background seismicity associated with the extrusion of dacite lava in the crater remains at low levels, punctuated by intermittent M2 to M3 earthquakes and some rockfalls. No significant changes in eruptive activity have been noted in the past 24 hours.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:23 | Permalink

• Mount St. Helens visitor centers still cut off by landslide on road 2007-Mar-29 14:04 from The Seattle Times

  VANCOUVER, Wash. — A landslide that has cut off access to two Mount St. Helens visitor centers and a few homes won't be cleared until the end of this week at the earliest, the state Department of Transportation said Wednesday.

  "We're hoping to start repairs within the next few days," spokeswoman Alissa Bateman said.

  The landslide, measuring about 30 feet wide and 230 feet long, fell on Spirit Lake Memorial Highway on Monday morning, down a steep slope on a sharp bend in the road.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 14:33 | Permalink

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 would be pushed broadly to the north this morning and afternoon by weak low-level winds and to the east with upper-level winds. By this evening winds at all levels will shift toward the north and northeast.

Recent observations: The crater is clear this morning, and a weak plume of condensed water vapor can be seen. Seismicity continues to be very low, with relatively small earthquakes and rockfalls occurring sporadically. A gas flight may go out today to measure gases escaping from the vent.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 09:35 | Permalink

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 to the southeast.

Recent observations: The crater is partly obscured by clouds this morning, although clearing is expected later in the day. Overnight seismicity remained very low with a few small earthquakes and rockfalls.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 12:01 | Permalink

• Slide blocks access to Mount St. Helens visitor centers 2007-Mar-27 16:01 from KING (ch.5) Seattle

  SEATTLE - A massive mudslide is blocking the only route to the viewing areas at Mount Saint Helens.

  On Monday, wet weather and soggy conditions sent mud and rocks crashing down onto Spirit Lake Memorial Highway (State Route 504) near milepost 19 east of Kid Valley.

  The slide is about 30 feet wide and 230 feet long and came down from a 350-foot bluff.

  The road closure means there is no access to Coldwater Visitor Center, Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center and Johnston Ridge Visitor Center.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 19:40 | Permalink

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 to east.

Recent observations: Low clouds are obscuring views of the crater this morning. Continuing very low levels of background seismicity are occasionally punctuated by modest (M2+) earthquakes.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:26 | Permalink

• Scientist believes Mount St. Helens could erupt for a century 2007-Mar-26 13:39 from The Seattle Times

  VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Mount St. Helens may be following the example of Kilauea in Hawaii with magma being replaced from a reservoir beneath the volcano as fast as it emerges as lava at the surface, scientists say.

  While the two volcanoes are different in many respects, St. Helens appears to have become an "open system" as its domebuilding eruption that began in the fall of 2004 continues at a pace that has been unchanged for the past year, said Daniel Dzurisin, a geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey's Cascades Volcano Observatory.

  Analyzing of digital elevation models made from high-resolution aerial photographs, scientists have kept close tabs on the rate at which lava has been pushing into the crater. At first it was about a dumptruck load, roughly 8 cubic yards, per second.

  also in The Seattle Post-Intellegencer also in The Portland Oregonian

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 16:38 | Permalink

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 in the sector from northwest to north to northeast.

Recent observations: There has been no change in the level of seismicity or ground deformation at Mount St. Helens in the past 24 hours. Earthquakes in the magnitude range 2-3 continue to occur sporadically amidst a background of more frequent but much smaller earthquake and rockfall signals. When weather permits, scientists will visit the volcano to make observations and equipment repairs that could not be completed during a visit last Friday.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 09:09 | Permalink

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 east-northeastward.

Recent observations: Activity continues as it has in previous days to weeks. Modest size earthquakes (M2+), some which appear to be associated with rockfalls, episodically punctuate the very low level of background seismicity. An clear image from one of our remote cameras several days ago shows that the lava dome continues to slowly extrude.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:16 | Permalink

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 east-northeastward.

Recent observations: The mountain remains shrouded in clouds this morning, with only the lower flanks presently visible. Yesterday, field crews managed to replace a camera and service a GPS station on the flanks but could not get into the crater for observations owing to clouds. Low-level seismicity punctuated by the occasional larger earthquake continues. There have been no changes in activity in the past 24 hours.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:21 | Permalink

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 east-southeastward early, shifting to an eastward to northeastward trajectory later in the day.

Recent observations: Clouds obscure the volcano this morning. If they lift, field crews may try to get out to conduct instrument maintenance. The level of seismicity remains unchanged; last night (10:09pm)a modest M2.4 earthquake occurred amidst the background of very low level seismicity.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 08:41 | Permalink

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 to the east.

Recent observations: The volcano is clear today beneath overcast skies. A magnitude 3.1 earthquake at 3:26 a.m. this morning is typical of the current background level of seismicity, which includes numerous very small quakes and rockfall signals punctuated by occasional larger quakes in the magnitude 2-3 range. Scientists are watching the weather for a window long enough in which to make observations and needed repairs to monitoring equipment. Slow extrusion of lava continues at the eruption site.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:21 | Permalink

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 to the south-southeast or southeast.

Recent observations: The volcano is visible from Johnston Ridge this morning and a plume of condensed water vapor can be seen rising from the active lava dome and drifting to the southeast over the crater rim. Plumes such as this one form when water vapor, a gas that cannot be seen, rises above the hot dome, cools in the atmosphere, and condenses to form visible water droplets. They are more indicative of weather conditions than any change in the ongoing eruption. Seismicity remains at a low background level and a GPS instrument on the active dome continues to move away from the vent at a constant rate. If weather permits, field crews will make observations and service monitoring instruments at the volcano later this week.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:32 | Permalink

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 to the northeast early in the day, shifting to the southeast later.

Recent observations: The volcano is obscured by clouds this morning. Seismicity and ground deformation continue at low background levels. A photo from a camera station on the northeast crater rim taken during a break in the weather on Saturday, March 17, shows that the lava dome has continued to grow since the previous good image on February 6. Ice on the camera has obscured the view for most of time during that interval. Continuing dome extrusion is consistent with sequential digital elevation models of the dome, which show that the growth rate was constant from mid-April through early December 2006.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:40 | Permalink

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 northeast.

Recent observations: Mount St. Helens is socked-in by inclement weather this morning. Siesmic stations continue to relay a very low-level signal associated with ongoing lava-spine extrusion and dome-growth in the crater.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:23 | Permalink

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 eastward in the morning and east-northeastward in the evening.

Recent observations: There have been no changes in eruptive conditions in the past 24 hours. The growing lava dome and crater area were intermittently visible through broken clouds this morning.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:09 | Permalink

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 northeastward.

Recent observations: The crater of Mount St. Helens is clearly visible this morning in the Forest Service webcam. There were no changes in eruptive conditions over the past 24 hours.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:26 | Permalink

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 east-northeastward.

Recent observations: The lava dome could be seen passively emitting steam this morning under a small lentiuclar cloud covering the crater. Continued incandescence at the top of the lava dome and persistent low-level seismicity indicate that the eruption is ongoing and unchanged. Fieldwork yesterday was curtailed by poor weather, and none is planned today.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:08 | Permalink

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 south east in the morning and to the east later on.

Recent observations: There are no changes in eruptive conditions in the last 24 hours. The crater is visible beneath partly cloudy skies. Field crews will be deployed to perform maintenance on monitoring instruments and airborne gas measurements are also scheduled for today.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:02 | Permalink

• Federal BLM says it will lease site near Mount St. Helens for mining 2007-Mar-14 14:21 from The Seattle Times

  A proposal for a mine near Mount St. Helens took a step forward today when the Bureau of Land Management announced it plans to issue a lease for land critical to the project.

  The BLM said it will grant Spokane-based Idaho General Mines the lease to 217 acres on the northern edge of the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument for mining. But it said it wouldn't allow any work there until further environmental studies showed it could be done without causing too much damage to the surrounding environment.

  The land is inside the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, and was originally acquired by the Forest Service in a deal with the environmental group the Trust for Public Land. The BLM has authority over mining activity on federal lands.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 19:34 | Permalink

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 to the east in the morning and to the east-south-east later on.

Recent observations: Cloudy skies obscure views of the volcano this morning. Near-continuous low-level seismicity indicates that there are no significant changes in the ongoing eruptive condition.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 18:53 | Permalink

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 west.

Recent observations: Mount St. Helens is visible beneath a gray, partly cloudy sky from Johnston Ridge cameras. Seismic stations in and around the crater show continued ground vibration and small shallow eathquakes related to lava-spine extrusion and dome growth. Last night at 23:39 PDT, a deeper-than-usual (13 km), M2.2 earthquake occurred beneath the volcano.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:21 | Permalink

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 to the east.

Recent observations: The volcano is obscured by clouds again today. There have been no significant changes in eruptive activity over the past 24 hours.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:40 | Permalink

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 northeastward.

Recent observations: The volcano is obscured by clouds this morning. At 3:49 a.m this morning, a magnitude 2.5 earthquake punctuated the regular pattern of small earthquakes. Intermittent, larger events such as this have been fairly common throughout much of the eruption. There have been no significant changes in eruptive activity over the past 24 hours. As of this morning, the webicorders are still showing standard time, but the data are up to date and accurate.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 12:22 | Permalink

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 primarily eastward throughout the day.

Recent observations: Some breaks in the cloud cover are providing intermittent glimpses of the crater this morning. More clouds are expected this afternoon, however, so visual monitoring will continue to be minimal. Small earthquakes that have accompanied the lava dome growth continue and monitoring data are unchanged from recent levels.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 12:55 | Permalink

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 northeastward to eastward throughout the day.

Recent observations: The volcano is again obscured in clouds. Small earthquakes that have accompanied the lava dome growth continue and monitoring data are unchanged from recent levels.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 09:21 | Permalink

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 eastward to northeastward throughout the day.

Recent observations: The volcano is shrouded in clouds this morning. Small earthquakes that have accompanied lava dome extrusion continue and are unchanged from recent levels. GPS spiders on the active area on the lava dome show movement to the south, west and down along previously established trends.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:34 | Permalink

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 north-northeast.

Recent observations: Clouds moved in overnight, and the mountain is obscured today. Low level seismicity continues, with occasional slightly larger earthquakes and small rockfalls, indicating continued deformation.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 12:23 | Permalink

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 north to north-northeast.

Recent observations: Weather affords a clear view into the crater today. Seismicity accompanying dome extrusion continues, however, with overall levels unchanged over the last 24 hours. Incandescent rock was visible from the JRO camera last night, and deformation continues.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:35 | Permalink

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 northeastward.

Recent observations: Cloudy conditions prevail at the mountain this morning, but the crater is clear beneath the cloud cover. Small earthquakes, characteristic of the eruption, continue and are unchanged from recent levels.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 09:30 | Permalink

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 northeastward.

Recent observations: The crater is clear this morning. The respite from stormy conditions is expected to be brief with precipitation forecast again for this evening. Over the past 24 hours seismicity has remained low and unchanged from recent levels.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:42 | Permalink

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 southeastward early in the day to east-northeastward later in the day.

Recent observations: The upper flanks of the volcano are just visible on the USFS' volcano web cam, but overall the volcano remains shrouded by clouds in the area. Small earthquakes that have accompanied dome growth continue with no change in size, location, or rate.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 14:52 | Permalink

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 southeastward.

Recent observations: A winter storm persists in the area obscuring all views of the volcano. Small earthquakes that have accompanied dome growth continue with no change in their average size, location, or rate.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:44 | Permalink

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 eastward.

Recent observations: A winter storm persists in the area obscuring all views of the volcano. Small earthquakes that have accompanied dome growth continue with no change in their average size, location, or rate.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 12:52 | Permalink