Washington’s Mount St. Helens Erupts Again as Northwest Geological Activity Continues

Christine Frey, Athima Chansanchai / Aimee Herd reporting : Mar 9, 2005
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Mount St. Helens in Washington State surprised scientists yesterday (Tues.) late afternoon when it erupted again, spewing ash about 36,000 feet into the air. The eruption continued for about 30 minutes with the plume visible to onlookers even in parts of Oregon, and some ashfall accumulating as far east as Yakima.

Most recent eruptions of Mount St. Helens were in 1980 and 1986, with some steam emissions, earthquakes and dome building starting up again last fall. The seismic activity had increased in the last week but scientists were not looking for another large eruption.