Is Mount St. Helens Ready to Erupt Again?

[Kerrie]

Yes, the Johnston Observatory now stands where he yelled those famous words...

 

[matthyaouw]

Check the volcano cam- Methinks I see lava...

edit- although it now seems to have solidified. there are two lighter grey patches of rock- one immediately to the left of the smoking vent, and one further left & lower than the first. They were a distinct orange colour when first I spotted them.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

we sure do. Magma has hit the surface.

 

[arildno]

The mountain is grumbling again:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/06/mount.saint.helens/index.html

 

[Ivan Seeking]

SAN FRANCISCO -- An unusually smooth and swiftly growing lava dome within the crater of Washington state's Mount St. Helens volcano is an extraordinary and perplexing event with an unknown outcome, geologists said Tuesday. [continued]

http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/041215_msh_update.html

 

[wolram]

If this volcano erupts with any magnitude, how many people
are in the danger area, have evacuation plans been made,
how fast can every one evacuate the area.
How does it effect the day to day lives of people knowing
that one day an eruption from this volcano will happen.

 

[Integral]

Wolram,
The mountain is fairly isolated, the nearest major city, Portland (~600.000 population), is about 80km away. It would take a truly massive explosion to need an evacuation of Portland, though if the winds were right it could get a major coating of ash. The mountain is in the middle of a large wilderness area, it is about 20km to the closest town, and that is very small. I doubt that there are 50,000 living within 50km. Though for most of those towns there is just a single road connecting them to the major freeway. So it is conceivable that some could be isolated for extended periods of time if there is significant flow of material from the mountain.

I grew up in what would have been the shadow of Mt Mazama, 5000 yrs ago this was a 14,000ft peak which was one of the highest in the Cascade Mt Range. But, much like St Helens it blew itself up. What remains is called Crater Lake National Park. The road that leads up to the Park passes through several deep cuts where the banks are volcanic ash 20m to 20m deep. This is as much as 50km from the mountain!

 

[wolram]

Thank you Integral ,
I can see now why people are looking at a future event as a
curiosity rather than panicking.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The first eruption pretty much took care of any immediate concerns.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

On a related note, in all likelihood Mt. Rainier will wipe out Seattle. She has been showing signs of activity for some years now but apparently nothing significant as yet.