Mt. St. Helens, Alive Again

St. Helens, which has been simmering since the fall of 2004, has let loose a new cloud of ash.  Take a look, in this picture from a U.S. Forest Service webcam. Over the last couple of years, the volcano has caused thousands of minor earthquakes–"drumbeats" in the parlance of geologists watching it.  Perhaps, says the U.S. Geological Survey in nearby Vancouver, Wash., there is a plug of volcanic rock that has been blocking the release of lava from below.  The pressure may be forcing it out at a rate of 10-20 feet per day, but the going is not smooth, and the result is an ongoing series of tremors. They say it’s unlikely we’ll see an eruption nearly as violent as the one in 1979, which flattened trees in an area of about 200 square miles, and was so loud the roar could be heard in Canada…but still, it’s worth watching. You can see it HERE, though the picture refreshes slowly, and few days are as clear as this one. ============= Note of correction, added Tuesday night: Apologies to folks who wrote in after my all-too-rushed post.  You’re quite right, the last major eruption was in 1980, not 1979, and the stuff coming out is a mix of steam and ash.  As for the rest of the information, the idea of the plug (with rock lurching irregularly at 3-6 meters per day) was in a paper by Richard Iverson and colleagues from the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Washington, published in NATURE on Nov. 23.  Here’s a LINK to it, though you may need a subscription.  And here’s a Nov. 22 piece from Reuters. Wendy, my heart went out to you when I saw your comment.  If you’re still having power problems, you have enough to deal with.  The USGS folks say they do not think a real eruption is in the offing.