The Mount St. Helens watch has started

It is beginning to look like Mount St. Helens is building for an eruption.

Recent measurements, and seismic activity, are starting to become more consistent indicating we could see some sort of eruption within days.  Unfortunately, there is no predictor to indicate how large of an eruption will come.

Seth Moran, a seismologist, has suggested that the chances of an eruption, the magnitude of the last eruption which blew off the top of the mountain, are fairly remote. 

Carl Thornber, a Volcanologist, is not certain of what to make of it all.  Yes, the earthquakes are occurring more frequently as the mountain rumbles, but the quakes are too shallow – not coming from the much lower layers.  Now the question comes, where is the building pressure and force coming from? 

Scientists, not taking any chances, have issued a “Hazardous Event Warning”, and park trails near the mount are being closed. 

Predicting the magnitude of a volcanic event is a best guess scenario. Nature does not subscribe to any rules.  Scientists, for the moment, think that any eruption might be rather small and limited to just steam being let go from the mountain core.

Michael Berglin