Oregon Public Broadcasting

Hard to believe we’ve come to the 29th anniversary already.  But that’s how long it’s been since the deadly and catastrophic eruption of Mount St. Helens.

We sent correspondent Tom Banse to check how peacefully the volcano slumbers today.

During a gorgeous weekend for volcano viewing, the snow-capped lady returns the gazes of her admirers with eerie stillness.

Rick LaHusen: “St. Helens is taking a break.”

After a three-year dome-building eruption.

Rick LaHusen is a volcanologist with the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory.  A smattering of earthquakes -- too small to feel -- are among the few signs of life.

Rick LaHusen: “It’s astonishing how quickly it went from an eruptive state to totally sleeping.”

But that slumber won’t last.

Rick LaHusen: “We’re seeing some indications that the magma chamber is recharging.”

That’s the plumbing underneath the mountain.  Of the Cascade Range volcanoes, LaHusen fingers Mount St. Helens as the most likely to erupt again in our lifetimes.

Rick LaHusen: “If you look at the time history of eruptions of Mount St. Helens, it’s really not a question of whether it will or not.  It’s just the timing of it all.”

Nothing imminent, but stay tuned.

Online:

Cascades Volcano Observatory