Magma has flowed to Mt. St. Helen's surface

[Smoketest]

Ah, but who here remembers when Mt. St. Helens blew its top in 1980?  I do.  I was in Okanogan, Washington.  We didn't get very much ash there, just things floating around in the air.

But I knew people who had to shovel it off their driveway. 

Mother nature in all its fury though--truly awesome.  Those film clips of the boiling mud slides... all very impressive.
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Yep, I was in north Idaho at the time and got a few days off from school while gray ash settled onto the ground like dirty snow. It was surreal.

Now I get to peek at the mountain whenever I'm around north Portland and I get to hear/see/read all about it through the media. Anyway, predictions are that if it blows, the vent will be straight up rather than to one side or the other, like what happened in 1980. Of course, even straight up will cause fallout, with the heavier stuff falling closer to the mountain and the wind carrying the lighter stuff to wherever. This time of the year the wind direction changes constantly so that could be 'fun'.

I doubt anyone would get injured this time around unless some fool decided to ignore warnings and stay on the mountain. Time will tell. In the meantime, it is fun to watch.