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 to the east.

Recent observations: A mostly-cloudy vista greets Mount St. Helens VolcanoCam visitors this morning, obscuring the ongoing lava-dome-building eruption. Weather permitting, USGS crews hope to fly today to deploy temporary GPS instruments and perform maintenance of hydrologic monitoring equipment.