Under the current U.S. Geological Survey Alert Level Terminology, Mount St. Helens volcano status is at “watch” level. There are four levels in the system: Normal, Advisory, Watch, and Warning.
Here is the most current update from the USGS:
U.S. Geological Survey, Vancouver, Washington
University of Washington, Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, Seattle, Washington
Wednesday, February 6, 2008 08:46 PST (Wednesday, February 6, 2008 16:46 UTC)
MOUNT ST. HELENS UPDATE
Current Volcanic- Alert Level WATCH; 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, changes in the level of activity can occur over days to months. The eruption could 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 any ash clouds rising above the crater rim today would drift to the east and southeast.
Potential ash hazards to aviation: Under current eruptive conditions, small, short-lived explosions may produce ash clouds that exceed 30,000 feet in altitude. Ash from such events can travel 100 miles or more downwind.
Recent observations: Mount St. Helens remains shrouded in clouds this morning. Generally stormy weather continues in the region, and more snowfall is expected today and tonight. Seismicity at the volcano remains very low. While most instrument sites continue to function, several have experienced transmission problems over the last few days, presumably due to snow/ice accumulation.
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.
In the bookstore: Mount St. Helens (books)
On the web: USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory
Tags: Mount St. Helens, USGS, volcano
February 8th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I knew there were signs of new activity at St Helen’s (I blogged about it here ) but I had no idea it was on the third of four ‘danger levels’. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one - I just hope there is no loss of life if it erupts again, like there was last time.