Mt. Fitzherbert

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim today would drift eastward early in the day shifting to east-northeastward later.

Recent observations: No significant changes have been detected in the level of activity during the past day. Stormy weather continues to obscure the volcano and the forecast for the week ahead shows little promise. Analysis of photos taken from the crater rim over a 21-hour period between January 23rd – 24th indicate that the extrusion of new dome rock continues unabated.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:39 | Permalink

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim today would drift east-northeastward early in the day shifting to east-southeastward later.

Recent observations: No significant changes have been detected in the level of activity during the past day. Stormy weather continues to obscure the volcano and the forecast for the week ahead shows little promise. Despite heavy snowfall and high winds, monitoring instruments continue to perform quite well.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:15 | Permalink

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim today would drift eastward early in the day and east-northeastward later.

Recent observations: No significant changes have been detected in the level of activity during the past day. In spite of heavy snowfall over the past few days, most monitoring stations continue to operate well.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 13:23 | Permalink

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim today would drift northeastward this morning shifting to east-southeastward by afternoon.

Recent observations: Clouds completely obscure the volcano this morning as another storm system approaches the Northwest. No significant changes have been detected in the level of activity during the past day.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:17 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: Continuing stormy weather precludes any views of the volcano, but several instruments repaired earlier in the week are operating well along with most of the other instruments in our monitoring networks. No significant changes have been detected in the level of activity during the past day.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 09:55 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: No significant changes have occurred in the level of activity during the past day. Initial analysis of recent photographs from fixed cameras in the crater show that the top of the currently active part of the new lava dome is at an altitude of about 2240 m (7350 feet), which is about 90 meters (300 feet) higher than it was in early November 2005. On several occasions during the eruption, parts of the dome have been considerably higher, for instance 2365 m (7765 feet) in July 2005. Those high points have since been lowered by disintegration, but still are higher than the top of the currently active part.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:59 | Permalink

More views taken on 2006-Jan-23

Recent observations: Dacitic lava dome growth continues within the crater of Mount St. Helens. New images from revived remote cameras show that the dome has increased significantly both in height and breadth compared to earlier images from December. Yesterday at 4:42 p.m. PST a shallow M 2.7 earthquake triggered a rockfall from the new dome generating an ash plume that filled the crater before dissipating and drifting northward over the pumice plain. Unlike some larger earthquakes from the past month, there was no interruption of the smaller “drumbeat” earthquakes associated with dome extrusion. Field crews returning from repairing repeater sites observed the event. No fieldwork is planned for today as a storm system approaches the Northwest.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:50 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: Dacitic lava dome growth continues within the crater of Mount St. Helens. Small "drumbeat" earthquakes associated with dome extrusion also continue, though they are faintly evident on seismometers outside of the crater. Yesterday, with the first clear weather in over a month, crews were in the field observing the new dome, repairing instruments, replacing batteries, and exhuming cameras from ice and snow. The new dome is noticeably taller and broader than when last viewed in December. Rockfalls from its summit generated small ash plumes that slowly rose above the crater rim and dissipated as they drifted east. Crews are in the field again today surveying the Muddy River drainage and repairing repeater sites.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:38 | Permalink

Aerial views taken on 2006-Jan-23

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 01:50 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: Solidified lava continues to extrude slowly into the lava dome within the crater of Mount St. Helens. Seismometers, GPS receivers, and tiltmeters show patterns basically unchanged since the first of January. Field crews are heading to the mountain this morning to make visual observations of the new dome, to repair and/or de-ice instruments and cameras that are not working, and to replace batteries as needed. If weather remains good, work in the crater may continue tomorrow.

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 ash clouds that rise above the crater rim today would drift southeast.

Recent observations: Solidified lava continues to extrude sluggishly into the lava dome within the crater of Mount St. Helens. Seismometers, GPS receivers, and tiltmeters show patterns unchanged since the first of January. Forecasted improving weather on Monday and Tuesday is leading to preparations for field work sometime in the next few days, with efforts devoted to repairing storm-damage instruments, replacing some batteries, and making visual observations of the new dome.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:04 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: Dacitic lava continues to extrude sluggishly within the crater of Mount St. Helens. Seismometers, GPS receivers, and tiltmeters show patterns unchanged since the first of January. A small ray of hope in the form of clearing weather has led us to prepare for field work sometime in the next three days, with efforts devoted to repairing storm-damage instruments, replacing some batteries, and making visual observations of the new dome.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:30 | Permalink

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim would drift east-northeast, changing to southeast by afternoon.

Recent observations: Dacitic lava continues to extrude quietly in the crater of Mount St. Helens. In the next day, it is unlikely that explosions or other hazards will change the low-level risk that has characterized the ongoing eruption for the past 10 months. This estimate is based on instrumental evidence and past history, inasmuch as wintry weather precludes viewing the crater and will likely sprinkle another 25-50 cm of snow over the weekend. Seismometers record small earthquakes about once every 2-5 minutes. Called drumbeats or heartbeats because of their regularity, since Christmas they’ve taken on some trifling arrhythmia (if we may push the cardiac analogy). Two GPS receivers on opposite sides of the growing dome are moving apart at about 1 cm per day, as they have been since the year began. Their separation probably results from being shouldered aside by the extrusion. Tiltmeters about 400 m from the vent are inclining at about 1-2 microradians per day.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 09:43 | Permalink

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim would drift to the southeast in the morning, shifting to a more easterly drift in the afternoon and evening.

Recent observations: The dome-building eruption continues today at a slow and steady pace. Small earthquakes, occurring on average every one to three minutes, reflect the slow lava extrusion, although there was a slightly larger earthquake at 7:09 am. Progress of the eruption currently can only be tracked by instruments (seismometers, GPS receivers, and tiltmeters) because of the low clouds and stormy conditions.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:25 | Permalink

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim would drift to the east (ENE to ESE) throughout the day.

Recent observations:The lava dome in the crater of Mount St. Helens continues to grow as lava is slowly extruded, accompanied by periodic small earthquakes. Progress of the eruption currently is tracked by seismometers, GPS receivers, and tiltmeters, which transmit to the observatory continuously. Aside from an infrequent, limited view of the mountain caught by the USFS webcam, we have had no visual observations of the crater in the 31 days since December 18, 2005, owing to stormy winter weather.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:29 | Permalink

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim would drift to the northeast throughout the day.

Recent observations: The lava dome in the crater of Mount St. Helens continues to extrude quietly, with no changes in style or magnitude of the event. This estimation is based entirely on instrumental evidence from seismometers, GPS receivers, and tiltmeters, which transmit to the observatory continuously. Aside from a infrequent, limited view of the mountain caught by the USFS webcam, we have had no visual observations of the crater in the 30 days since December 18, 2005, owing to stormy winter weather.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:52 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: No significant changes in the level or type of activity at the mountain have been noted since yesterday’s update. Pictures from the USFS web camera at the Johnston Ridge Observatory this morning uniformly gray as another storm system cruises through the region. Aside from occasional weather-related outages, most instruments continue to function admirably despite significant recent accumulations of snow on the volcano. Weather forecasts hold little promise for fieldwork this week.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:55 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: No significant changes in the level or type of activity at the mountain have been noted since yesterday’s update. A larger event occurred at 0424 PST this morning, followed by another temporary dip in “drumbeat” events. Pictures from the USFS web camera at the Johnston Ridge Observatory this morning are mostly gray, although glimpses of a snow-covered Pumice Plain can be seen through occasional cloud breaks. Snow fell in the crater and vicinity again last night, resulting in several minutes-to-hours-long dropouts in radio signals from several monitoring stations. It has been over 4 weeks since our last good look inside the crater, the longest gap between observations since the eruption started in 2004. Weather forecasts hold little promise for fieldwork in the coming week.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:02 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: No significant changes in the level or type of activity at the mountain have been noted since yesterday’s update. The time between “drumbeat” events has become slightly less regular over the last week, but average seismic energy levels remain unchanged. Pictures from the USFS web camera at the Johnston Ridge Observatory this morning are uniformly gray. Snow has been falling in the crater and vicinity, resulting in several minutes-to-hours-long dropouts in radio signals from several monitoring stations overnight. Weather forecasts call for more snow today at the volcano, with little hope of any significant breaks over the next week. It has been 4 weeks since our last good look inside the crater, the longest gap between observations since the eruption started in 2004.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:52 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: No significant changes in the level or type of activity at the mountain have been noted since yesterday’s update. Another larger earthquake occurred at 0234 PST this morning, followed by another 30-40 minute lull in “drumbeat” earthquakes. Pictures from the USFS web camera at the Johnston Ridge Observatory this morning are a mix of clouds, snowflakes, and occasional glimpses of the snow-coated Pumice Plain north of the volcano. Weather forecasts call for more rain and snow today at the volcano, with no end in sight. It has been 26 days since our last good look on December 18, the longest gap between visual observations since the eruption started in 2004.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:10 | Permalink

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim would drift to the the east in the morning, shifting to north-northeasterly by this evening.

Recent observations: No significant changes in the level or type of activity at the mountain have been noted since yesterday’s update. Two larger earthquakes occurred over the last 24 hours; a magnitude 2.4 at 1003 PST yesterday morning, and a magnitude 2.8 at 0256 this morning. The second was followed by an hour-long lull in “drumbeat” earthquakes, similar to several other post-larger-earthquake lulls since January 1. Pictures from the USFS web camera at the Johnston Ridge Observatory this morning are uniformly gray as yet another storm system sweeps through the region. Weather forecasts call for another load of snow to be dumped on Mount St. Helens today and tonight, which may result in occasional radio signal dropouts from stations on the volcano.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 09:22 | Permalink

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim would drift to the east-northeast.

Recent observations: No significant changes in the level or type of activity at the mountain have been noted since yesterday’s update. The most significant event over the last 24 hours was a magnitude 2.7 earthquake at 1016 PST yesterday morning that, unlike several other larger events over the last 10 days, had no obvious effect on the “drumbeat” earthquakes. Views this morning from the U.S. Forest Service’s web camera at the Johnston Ridge Observatory are completely obscured by clouds and occasional flakes of snow from the storm system du jour.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 09:49 | Permalink

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim would drift to the east-northeast.

Recent observations: No significant changes in the level or type of activity at the mountain have been noted since yesterday’s update. The series of winter storms sweeping through the area over the last several days have dumped several feet of snow onto instruments located on the flanks and crater floor of Mount St. Helens. Most continue to function admirably, although occasional radio signal dropouts from several instruments occurred overnight. Given the dense network of stations on the volcano, the dropouts are not having an appreciable affect on our monitoring capabilities. With the forecast calling for several more feet’s-worth of snow through the end of the week, it is likely that occasional dropouts will continue to occur.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 09:39 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: Another hour-long lull in the “drumbeat” earthquakes occurred following a larger earthquake at 1723 PST yesterday afternoon. Drumbeats have since returned to normal levels, and no other significant changes in the level or type of activity at the mountain have been noted since yesterday’s update. It has been three full weeks since our last view of the volcano, and the rain- and snow-filled forecast gives little reason for optimism that visual observations or field work will be possible in the coming 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 ash clouds that rise above the crater rim would drift to the east and southeast.

Recent observations:No significant changes in the level or type of activity at the mountain have been noted since yesterday’s update. The pattern of “drumbeat” earthquakes every two to three minutes was undisturbed by any larger quakes overnight. No visual observations or field work were possible owing to continued inclement weather.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:58 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: No significant changes in the level or type of activity at the mountain have been noted since yesterday’s update. A larger (M. 2.7) event shook the mountain yesterday evening (18:14 PST, 02:14 Jan 7 UTC) but failed to trigger any extensive decrease in the frequency of the “drum beat” events as was noticed after earthquakes of similar size earlier in the month. The mountain appears to be proving true the adage “patterns are made to be broken”. No visual observations or field work were possible owing to continued inclement weather.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:24 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: No significant changes in the level or type of activity at the mountain have been noted since yesterday’s update. A somewhat larger than average event occurred yesterday afternoon (17:06 PST, 01:06 Jan 6 UTC) but failed to trigger the type of seismic lull described in yesterday’s update. The pattern of drumbeats with the possibility of interspersed larger events continues. Inclement weather continues at the volcano. The long term forecast calls for a series of storm cells to pass over the region in the next few days leaving us little hope of any extensive views into the crater or field work.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:19 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: Low level activity continues at the mountain unabated today. A protracted lull in the usual “drumbeat” events was observed yesterday after a somewhat larger earthquake at 17:12 UTC (09:12 PST). The lull lasted about 110 minutes after which the regular pattern of small events occurring every two to three minutes reasserted itself. This phenomenon was similar to but much longer than that observed after a larger quake on the morning of January 1st. Since yesterday morning’s event the mountain has returned to the behavior that has become usual, namely, small events every few minutes with the possibility of larger events occurring intermittently. This pattern of seismicity and that of other monitored parameters suggest that the slow extrusion of the new lava dome is continuing. As has been true since mid-December, winter weather conditions continue to preclude visual observations or field work.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:07 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: The pattern of seismicity at the volcano remains essentially unchanged from the previous few weeks. A strong (M 6.7) earthquake occurred at 08:32 UTC (00:32 PST) in the Gulf of California and registered clearly on seismographs across the region including several from the Mt. St. Helens network. Such distant events may take a few to many minutes to reach the seismometers at Mount St. Helens and show up as large, very low frequency undulations in the seismic trace. A technical problem with our satellite telemetry system interrupted the transmission of data from several seismic stations for approximately ten hours last night. Other stations that transmit directly to the observatory continued to provide us with seismic data throughout the outage. As has been the case over the last few months small earthquakes continue to be recorded every 2-3 minutes. This pattern of seismicity coupled with other monitoring parameters suggests the slow extrusion of dacite onto the crater floor at Mount St. Helens continues unabated. Typical winter weather conditions continue to preclude visual observations or field work.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 09:54 | Permalink

• Mount St. Helens still oozing lava 2006-Jan-03 00:00 from Seattle Times

  For more than a year, Mount St. Helens has been oozing lava into its crater at the rate of roughly a large dump-truck load – 10 cubic yards – every three seconds.

  With the sticky molten rock comes a steady drumfire of small earthquakes.

  The movement of lava up through the Southwest Washington volcano is "like a sticky piston trying to rise in a rusty cylinder," U.S. Geological Survey geologist Dave Sherrod said last week in a telephone interview from the agency's Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash.

  "These quakes are very small – we think they're associated with that sticking and slipping as the ground is deformed and relaxes."

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 14:39 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: The pattern of seismicity remains essentially unchanged from the previous few weeks. Small earthquakes continue to be recorded every 2-3 minutes with slightly larger events occurring intermittently. This pattern of seismicity coupled with other monitoring parameters suggests the slow extrusion of dacite onto the crater floor at Mount St. Helens continues unabated. Typical winter weather conditions continue to preclude visual observations or field work.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 10:16 | Permalink

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

Recent observations: Small earthquakes continued every 2-3 minutes as dacite lava extrudes slowly within the crater of Mount St. Helens. At approximately 10:35 am (PST) January 1, a slightly larger earthquake marked a period of about 30 minutes before the return of persistent small earthquakes occurring every few minutes. Winter storms and snow level down to about 4000 ft altitude have not allowed visual observations.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 09:22 | Permalink

Potential ash hazards: Wind forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), coupled with eruption models, show that ash clouds that rise above the crater rim would drift to the northeast early in the day but to the north by afternoon.

Recent observations: There was no volcanic revelry last night, only the persistent small earthquakes every 2-3 minutes to mark the slow extrusion of dacite lava within the crater of Mount St. Helens. Winter storms and snow level down to about 4000 ft altitude have precluded visual observations.

Posted by Raoul Ortega at 11:03 | Permalink