Mt. St. Helens, again.

[eire1274]

What am I seeing here?

http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/

[Silent_Death911]

Something about to happen, I wager.

More specifically, I think that might be a hot water spout. Either that, or Helen is letting off some steam (in the form of ash, no less).

[eire1274]

Mount St. Helens Releases More Steam As New Images Show Magma Continues to Rise Inside Volcano ~source (http://omaha.cox.net/cci/newsnational/national?_mode=view&_state=maximized&view=article&id=D85LFI280)
Mount St. Helens vented more steam Monday as new thermal images revealed that parts of the lava dome in its crater are piping hot, a sign that magma continues to rise within the volcano.

Heat from parts of the lava dome exceeded scientists' instruments, which hadn't been calibrated to measure temperatures that high, said Jeff Wynn, chief scientist for volcano hazards at the U.S. Geological Survey's Cascades Volcano Observatory.

Willie Scott, a Geological Survey geologist, said temperatures in some spots could be as high as 400 to 570 degrees Fahrenheit.

"They didn't expect it to get that hot," Wynn told The Associated Press.

For more than a week, the restless mountain has sent steam, sometimes mixed with ash, venting from an upswelling of rock on the south side of the lava dome that's risen to at least 330 feet since scientists first spotted it Sept. 30.

The high temperatures detected Sunday suggest the magma could be right beneath the surface or much farther down, with the heat rising because of steam spewing up from below, Wynn said.

Activity is expected to ebb and flow, and scientists say the most likely scenario is weeks or months of occasional steam blasts and possibly some eruptions of fresh volcanic rock.

Officials have said an eruption could occur with very little warning, but do not expect anything like the 1980 blast that killed 57 people and coated much of the Northwest with ash.

[Orangepeel]

It doesn't look like much has been able to grow that close to the volcano since the 1980s.

I was reading a few articles that said that the original 1980 explosion left rivers of mud up to 60 feet deep around the mountain. Facinating!

Maybe someone will catch a magma spout on camera...is that one of the webcams you got that picture from?

[eire1274]

I clicked in to the link above and just cought that water burst.

In fact, right now: