Posted on 10/02/2004 12:24:17 AM PDT by endthematrix
MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. - Mount St. Helens, the volcano that blew its top with cataclysmic force in 1980, erupted for the first time in 18 years Friday, belching a huge column of white steam and ash after days of rumblings under the mountain
Small earthquakes resumed within hours of the blast, suggesting pressure inside the mountain was rebuilding. Scientists said there could be more steam eruptions soon.
The noontime eruption cast a haze across the horizon as the roiling plume rose from the nearly 1,000-foot-tall lava dome, forcing Alaska Airlines to cancel flights and divert others around the ash.
"It was such a thrill!" said Faye Ray, a retired teacher who watched from an observatory near the mountain. "I just felt we would see something today and we did."
Scientists had been predicting just such an eruption for days because of thousands of earthquakes and signs that the rock inside the crater was expanding rapidly.
The eruption was nowhere near what happened 24 years ago, when 57 people were killed and towns up to 250 miles away were showered with rock and ash.
About 20 minutes after Friday's eruption, the mountain calmed and the plume began to dissipate. The ash appeared to pose no threat to anyone, but scientists warned that people living southwest of the mountain might notice a fine film of ash on their cars. No evacuations were ordered, and there was no sign of any lava oozing from the volcano.
A few hours later, small earthquakes had started again at a rate of about one every 4 minutes. Within an hour they hit a one-per-minute pace, said Bill Steele at the University of Washington seismic laboratory, which is working with USGS (news - web sites). A couple were larger, exceeding magnitude 2.
He said there are likely to be a few more steam explosions "until enough debris is cleared, and then there is a significant chance that lava could be extruded at the surface."
Few people live near the mountain, about 100 miles south of Seattle. The closest structure is the Johnston Ridge Observatory, about five miles from the crater.
"It wasn't lava-y, so I wasn't scared," said Lorain Weatherby, who was working a snack bar down the road from St. Helens. "It was like a big white cloud."
For the past week, scientists have detected thousands of earthquakes of increasing strength — as high as magnitude 3.3 — suggesting another eruption was on the way. Steam frequently rises from the crater, but the 8,364-foot peak had not erupted since 1986.
"This is exactly the kind of event we've been predicting," said U.S. Geological Survey (news - web sites) scientist Cynthia Gardner.
The earthquakes quit after the eruption, said Jeff Wynn, another USGS scientist.
He called the eruption a "throat-clearing."
USGS seismologist Bob Norris said magma could be moving underground and he would not be surprised to see more explosions in the next days or weeks.
"The monitoring will definitely continue on a very intense scale until we can determine that the thing has really gone back to sleep," said Tom Pierson, a USGS geologist.
Mike Fergus, a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) in Seattle, said the plume had reached 16,000 feet in altitude.
Alaska Airlines canceled five flights scheduled to take off from Portland International Airport in Oregon, but quickly resumed its normal schedule, said spokesman Sam Sperry
Thar she blows!
Thar she blows!
Nice photos.
If you believe in omens, just remember the last time it erupted, during the same year a Republican was elected
president.
Photo Gallery Of Eruption
http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=71507
Time-Lapse Of The Eruption
http://easylink.playstream.com/katu/041001erupt_timelaps.wvx
As The Mountain Erupts
http://easylink.playstream.com/katu/041001erupt_breaking.wvx
Helens Seen From The Air
http://easylink.playstream.com/katu/041001st_helens_jet2.wvx
Thanks!
Cool.
Thanks!
It gets really wild when "Helen" blows her stack! I have a plastic bag with some of her "ash" from the Big One many years back.
After all those trees are just coming back. I hope that it stays small and just lets off steam.
Volcano seismic activity resumes
MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. (AP) - Scientists say there could be more steam eruptions on Mount St. Helens where seismic disturbances readings resumed within hours of Friday's steam blast on the volcano.
That suggests that pressure is building up inside the mountain again -- meaning another steam blast could happen, possibly soon.
Friday's noontime eruption was not without cost. It destroyed the seismic and deformation stations on the dome. Scientists use the gear to track ground movement.
U-S Geological Survey hydrologist John Major says futher measurements are going to have to be done by eye.
Friday's steam and ash eruption came more than a week after a flurry of earthquakes warned the volcano was reawakening, but it was nothing like the 1980 blast that killed 57 people.
I blame Bush!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.