Cascade Range Current Update

MOUNT ST. HELENS UPDATE

Saturday, December 18, 2004 10:30 a.m. PST (1830 UTC)

Current status is Volcano Advisory (Alert Level 2); aviation color code ORANGE. Growth of the new lava dome inside the crater of Mount St. Helens continues, accompanied by low rates of seismicity, low emissions of steam and volcanic gases, and minor production of ash. During such eruptions, episodic changes in the level of activity can occur over days to months. The eruption could also intensify suddenly or with little warning and produce explosions that cause hazardous conditions within several miles of the crater and farther downwind. Small lahars could suddenly descend the Toutle River if triggered by heavy rain or by interaction of hot rocks with snow and ice. These lahars pose a negligible hazard below the Sediment Retention Structure (SRS) but could pose a hazard along the river channel upstream.

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 southeastward early in the day. Later in the day, ash clouds would drift northward at low altitude and eastward at higher altitude.

Recent observations: This morning, a white vapor plume is again visible rising above the crater rim and drifting off southward. The gas-sensing flight cancelled by Thursday’s conditions took place yesterday. Results should be available in the update tomorrow or Monday. No field work is planned for the weekend. Similar to Thursday night, three more earthquakes of magnitude 2.7 to 3.1 occurred last night amidst the ongoing pattern of frequent smaller earthquakes. Such swarms have occurred on several occasions during the past month.

The U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Washington continue to monitor the situation closely and will issue additional updates and changes in alert level as warranted.

For additional information, background, images, and other graphics: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/News/framework.html

For seismic information: http://www.pnsn.org/HELENS/welcome.html

For a definition of alert levels: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/News/framework.html

For a webcam view of the volcano: http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

Telephone recordings with the latest update on Mount St. Helens and phone contacts for additional information can be heard by calling:

Media (360) 891-5180

General public (360) 891-5202

OTHER CASCADE VOLCANOES

All other volcanoes in the Cascade Range are all at normal levels of background seismicity. These include Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Rainier, and Mount Adams in Washington State; Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Three Sisters, Newberry, and Crater Lake, in Oregon; and Medicine Lake, Mount Shasta, and Lassen Peak in northern California.

USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory, the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network at the University of Washington, and the USGS Northern California Seismic Network and Volcano Hazards Team in Menlo Park, California, monitor the major volcanoes in the Cascade Range of northern California, Oregon, and Washington.



Past Updates

News - Mount St. Helens Current Information