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, 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 inter-

action 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 northward.

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: Conditions are hazy at the volcano today, likely

due to numerous forest fires around the state and continued hot, dry,

windy conditions. A moderate-sized event associated with a rockfall

occurred at about 1 a.m. PDT. Monitoring data show no significant changes

at the volcano in the past 24 hours.

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/Volcanoes/MSH/Eruption04/

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

html

For a definition of alert levels: http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Cascades/CurrentActivity/volcano_

warning_scheme.html

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

cams/msh/

Telephone recordings with the latest update on Mount St. Helens and

phone contacts for additional information can be heard by calling: (360)

891-5180.

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.