Mount St. Helens vents more steam (NEW Tuesday morning)

[Ediacara]

Mount St. Helens vents more steam

By GENE JOHNSON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

MOUNT ST. HELENS NATIONAL MONUMENT, Wash. -- Mount St. Helens blew off a spectacular cloud of steam and ash Tuesday morning, the latest indication that a larger eruption may be in the works.

The southwest Washington mountain has been venting steam daily, along with small amounts of ash, since Friday, making it the most active volcano in the lower 48 states and Canada. Tuesday morning's burst was the largest, with a roiling, dark gray cloud streaming several miles to the northeast.

U.S. Geological Survey vulcanologist Jake Lowenstern said the plume had "a significant amount of ash in it."

The latest burst began shortly after 9 a.m. PDT. Like the early ventings, it posed no immediate danger to humans or property as it rose rapidly above the 8,364-foot rim of the mountain.

More at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

[Tempest]

1. Mt. St. Helens' web cam

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

You can see all the steam that was released.

[smirkymonkey]

2. How will they know when it is dangerous to humans or

property? Is it completely predictable or is there a possibility it could erupt without warning?

[Amigust]

3. It's already given its warnings

eom

[Ediacara]

4. They have already closed the monument to people

The webcam posted upthread is, AFAIK, on a building with no people in it. It's starting to vent volvanic gasses, which means a real eruption will probably take place (rather than the steam/ash explosions that have taken place), but it's unlikely to be even half as explosive as the 1980 eruption, probably even less than that.

Although, with each passing day, new information is gathered and their outlook of what could happen will change.

[bain_sidhe]

5. Looks like another release - 2:04 PM PDT

the "direct" image (should update here on the page... I hope)

[Rich Hunt]

6. jeez

That thing is smokin' now.