Here's an interesting story alleging that residents along the Kalama River can predict when Mount St. Helens is acting up because the river turns milky.

Elwin Bottorff, 76, a retired lumber mill manager, says he has been reading the river that runs past his front yard for 40 years and knew what it meant the last time he saw the change.

"The first thing I said was, 'That goddamn mountain is screwing around again,'" Bottorff said. "Then, sure enough, about a week later, here it comes."

So the geologists haven't lost the fervor we all experienced during volcano explosion week at the end of September. They're still excitedly jumping at the newest growth of lava in the lava dome.

But to the rest of us, including the media, the volcano is now old news. And boring. Watching the lava bulge grow is like watching grass grow. It's just about that fast.

Rest assured, though, that as soon as the volcano does something interesting, or we finally get the long-awaited picture of the mountain glowing dark red at night, we'll post it.

Latest news from The Oregonian:
Hot lava up to 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit is flowing onto the crater floor next to the 1980-86 lava dome. Seismic activity: Earthquakes are small and low in number, but are consistent with a slow rise of magma driving uplift of the crater floor.

St. Helens webcam shots clearly show an enormous, 2,000-foot-tall spider descending from the heavens on an invisible thread of silk. It is possible, although unconfirmed by scientists, that the spider has been causing seismic tremors. Stay tuned to the Volcano Blog for more updates on this incredible new natural discovery.

Thanks for providing this web page for us. In addition to my interest in science, volcanoes, and history, I am also from eastern WA (Yakima) and was significantly "ashed" on that morning in 1980. My excited words at the time hold true today, how many people get to live through an eruption!? Why I knew I'd live through it is beyond me, perhaps I couldn't imagine enough ash falling to be dangerous. That whole day at my job and the following week make a great story that I should write down sometime. Maybe now, with this reminder, it's time to do it... Thanks again, Dianna Woods

Back to work for most of us and Mount St. Helens is once again jutting steam into the air. Viewers were greeted with the sight as the sun rose on the mountain this morning.

Earthquake activity has decreased from a period of higher activity earlier this week.

Partly cloudy skies look to provide excellent long-distance (as in, through the webcam) volcano viewing.

More updates as the situation warrants.

Earthquake activity has picked up again on the mountain.
But folks hoping to see the fresh dusting of snow on the crater may be disappointed: Low clouds and fog are obscuring much of the view, hampering scientists' ability to see what is going on.

Here's a story about the Illinois parents of David Johnston, who was part of a team of U.S. Geological Survey scientists studying the volcano when it erupted in 1980. He died and his body never was found. In the photo, the parents are holding a picture that was taken the day before he died.

The Johnstons have visited the mountain five times since the 1980 eruption, mostly to attend dedications and tributes. They say that while it remains difficult to deal with their son's death, they try to focus on how happy he was with what he chose to do with his life.

"Life isn't arriving, life is a journey," said his mother. "And he had 30 years of a good journey."

And here's a story in today's SR by Mike Prager, recalling Reid Blackburn, the Vancouver Columbian photographer who died in the 1980 eruption. Prager worked briefly at the Columbian a few years earlier, and he recently interviewed Blackburn's widow, Fay.

She can see the volcano from Vancouver, yet is far enough away for it not to pose a threat. "I couldn't drive up there. I couldn't be up there close," she said. She acknowledged its widely held allure.

"Once she's covered in snow," Fay said, "she's still beautiful."

And here's a story about the technology in place now that would have prevented David Johnston's death.

"The 1980 eruption of the volcano has made it possible for volcanologists to take better measurements without hiking up the volatile mountain, a requirement 24 years ago that cost Johnson his life."

Here are some memories of the 1980 eruption from readers of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

And, finally, here's a weird column about sports gambling:

Last Sunday as the Patriots scored their first TD against the Buffalo Bills I was on the phone with my brother and his wife. They were asking me the line on when Mount St. Helens will blow her top? I told them I didn't know but I would look into it. If possible they wanted me to lay a few units on Monday, October 4 for the volcanoes eription (sic).

Apparently some people just can't get enough. Mount St. Helens fanatics are camped out waiting. The volcano is drawing in addicts (no, we're not talking about ourselves). Volcano tourists are camped out and waiting. Some of them aren't sure when they're going to leave.

"It's like a magnet," Hegner said. "There's always a question: Will it erupt today? The first eruption last Friday was so huge, so powerful, and I felt so close to it."

Mount St. Helens naysayers: you may yet be proved wrong.

Liquid hot magma is still rising up the volcano. The crater floor has already risen 50 to 100 feet in places.

The supposition is that the majority of the thick rock barring the magma's rise in the crater has been broken up, so there's less rumbling as the magma moves up.

One scientist referred to the process as the "skids being greased." Well, it looks like our volcano may still have some life in her.

And I wouldn't write off the mountain quite yet. The most recent seismogram seems to show an increase in activity. Look at it from top to bottom.

If you really need to get your fix of volcano news, don't hesitate to visit Mexico's Volcano of Fire! (Warning, site is in Spanish.)

This pretty much puts Mount St. Helens to shame, and recently it's been throwing enormous chunks of lava out onto the sides of the mountain.

It's not in our our own backyard, but, it's a volcano!

A collective gloom was hanging over the participants of the Spokesman-Review's afternoon news meeting Wednesday.

Our big story, the volcano, was starting to fizzle. It was reaching Yellowstone National Park levels of mediocrity. Just as low clouds and rain obscured the mountain today, Mount St. Helens' day in the sunlight seems to have passed.

Many at the meeting were obviously disappointed, and some had children who anticipated scooping up ash and putting it into jars, just like their parents and grandparents had done years ago.

Instead, the kids might have to wait. The volcano is settling down again, and there's nothing more boring than a volcano that's not doing anything.

Scientists are now saying the volcano will no longer blast off at any minute. Now it's just going to blast off every few days for the next few months. So they lowered the volcano alert level from three to two.

"We're a little perplexed," Malone said. "It may have lost its oomph ... or it may have lost a lot of its obstructions, but between those two we just don't know."

Photos are starting to filter in across the wire of this morning's ash eruption. We'll post them here as we find them.

Mount St. Helens exhales a cloud of steam and ash Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004, at Mount St. Helens National Monument, Wash. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Bruce Ely) Posted 3:49 p.m.

Mount St. Helens exhales a cloud of steam and ash Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004, as seen in this aerial photo over Mount St. Helens National Monument, Wash. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Bruce Ely) Posted 3:49 p.m.

Mount St. Helens exhales a cloud of steam and ash, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004, at Mount St. Helens National Monument, Wash. (AP Photo/The Oregonian, Bruce Ely) Posted 3:49 p.m.

Mount St. Helens erupts a cloud of steam and ash Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004, in this aerial view showing Spirit Lake in the forground in Mount St. Helens National Monument, Wash. The volcano has been venting steam and small amounts of ash daily since Friday, but Tuesday morning's burst was the largest, producing a billowing, dark gray cloud that rose thousands of feet above the 8,364-foot-high rim of the crater and streamed miles to the northeast. (AP Photo/Steve Benham)

Birch Frosh, of Seattle, Wa., watches as Mount St. Helens erupts Tuesday, Oct 5, 2004, at Coldwater Ridge Vistor Center, Wa. Mount St. Helens exhaled a roiling cloud of steam and ash, sprinkling grit on a small town some 25 miles from the volcano. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Posted 2:22 p.m.

Mount St. Helens exhales a roiling cloud of steam and ash Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004 sprinkling grit on a small town some 25 miles from the volcano. The volcano has been venting steam and small amounts of ash daily since Friday, but Tuesday morning's burst was the largest, producing a billowing, dark gray cloud that rose thousands of feet above the 8,364-foot-high rim of the crater and streamed miles to the northeast. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Posted 1:56 p.m.

Mount St. Helens erupts with steam, dust and ash Tuesday morning Oct. 5, 2004, in this photograph taken at 12,000 feet looking north. In the background is Mount Rainier. (AP Photo/The Columbian, Troy Wayrynen) Posted 12:45 p.m.

The vent hole and newly formed mound behind the lava dome at Mount St. Helens, Wash., has grown in size, raising the edge of the dome and cracking the glacier to the right after a steam and ash eruption Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004. (AP Photo/Don Ryan) Posted 12:38 p.m.

The vent hole and newly formed mound behind the lava dome at Mount St. Helens, Wash., has grown in size, raising and cracking the glacier to the right after a steam and ash eruption Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004. (AP Photo/Don Ryan) Posted 12:25 p.m.

This photo is taken from a fixed wing plane as it flys over the lava dome and towards a new bulge behind the dome after a steam and ash eruption coated the crater and surroundings with ash at Mount St. Helens at Mount St. Helens National Monument, Wash., Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004. (AP Photo/Don Ryan) Posted 12:23 p.m.

Two lenticular clouds hover over Mount Rainier, Wash., as it stands above the ash cloud spewed out after Mount St. Helens, Wash., erupted with steam and ash Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2004.(AP Photo/Don Ryan) Posted 12:19 p.m.

Another burst of ash happened today, this time with a bigger cloud of ash and steam.

Each explosion --- or "event" as geologists seem apt to call them --- is getting bigger than the one previous, and they all seem to be occuring in the mornings. Don't think this fact is being lost on the myriad of onlookers parked as close to the mountain as possible.

Ken Marshall drove up from Valley Springs, Calif., hoping to see an eruption.

"It's almost like clockwork," he said. "It blows in the morning and then there are earthquakes and rockfall all the rest of the day."

One thing's for certain: as journalists, we get used to covering the same thing again and again while trying to keep it interesting and fresh. This is a particularly difficult task when covering Mount St. Helens. Essentially the "steam/ash coming out of mountain" story has been happening for a week, and after the initial excitement, we may be set in to a several-month-long pattern of increased volcanic activity. And no matter what happens, that can get boring.

More updates to come throughout the day and evening.

Common talk among young people concerning recent geologic events reflects excitement. Many people born after 1980 had no opportunity to see what the original explosion was like. Many can only vaguely imagine a black cloud darkening the sky at 3 p.m., and ash falling like snow on empty streets.

After all, most young people's volcano knowledge is limited to Dr. Evil's quote from "Austin Powers."

"You forget, Scott. We're in a volcano. We're surrounded by liquid hot magma."

So besides repeatedly saying "magma" to each other, now young folks are waiting impatiently for the volcano to blast off. Things like casualty counts and danger zones are trivial. Everyone's hoping that this volcano is being underplayed and that they'll get to experience a blast of epic proportions that they can tell their grandchildren about.

Our family of four was among the 66,000 persons evacuated from Aerospace Day at Fairchild Air Force Base in less than two hours. After arriving at home, we set up kitchen stools at the picture windows to watch what was happening. Around 3 p.m., our three-year-old daughter went into her bedroom and came back with her pajamas. She believed it was night time.

Sunday morning, it was all hands on deck for the Spokane Daily Chronicle staff so at 7 a.m. I drove to work On High Drive about three blocks east of Bernard I came upon a man wearing a ball cap, a paper medical mask, shorts and sweat-shirt. He was getting in his early morning run and each time his foot hit the street there was a small explosion of ash. It was surreal. I wasn't even sure how long my car would run if the carburetor sucked in too much ash and yet here was this man just jogging along.

-- Hugh Davis, former Chronicle reporter

"It's hard to say what's going to trigger the final punch with the magma," said Tom Pearson with the United States Geologic Survey.

He also said that in the event of a lava eruption there would be a bigger cloud of steam and the cloud would be darker, nearly black.

Earthquakes have rumbled under the mountain since midnight.

The geologist insisted this was not the event they are expecting, one that could be far more explosive and considerably more dangerous.

Scientists continued to use the term "steady build-up" to describe the volcano's current state of activity.

Another steam eruption, this one much like the previous eruption, is currently in progress at Mount St. Helens. It is unclear at this time whether the eruption contains lava as scientists have been expecting.

Winds are very light today, hovering around 5 to 10 miles per hour, so don't expect any dark clouds on the horizon across eastern Washington. Currently steam is drifting to Mount Adams in the southeast.

This steam burst appears larger than last week's initial explosion. Most of the ash is falling within the area around the mountain.

Even still, volcano tourists continue to express disappointment that the eruption is not living up to expectations.

Here's a page tracking current conditions around St. Helens as they relate to recreation areas around the volcano.

The Associated Press has put together a story on a volcano's awesome arsenal of natural weapons.

First, there's the gritty, glassy ash that travels for miles. That's what scientists consider to be the main hazard from Mount St. Helens during the current volcano alert.

But bigger volcano blasts can produce more frightening scenarios: high-speed mudslides caused by a rush of water carrying house-sized boulders and intensely hot clouds of rock fragments and lava.

You think the hurricanes in Florida have been vicious? Don't try boarding up your windows and riding out a pyroclastic flow, a lahar or a tephra blizzard - the technical names for all those hazards, which are among Earth's most powerful forces.

As the story says, the deadliest effects of a volcanic blast aren't expected from Mount St. Helens at this time. But it's still a fascinating reminder of how powerful the natural phenomenon can be.

Scientists detected another tremor at St. Helens around 3 a.m. this morning. According to Jeff Wynn, a chief scientist at the Cascade Volcano Observatory: "It just means that what's been happening is still happening and it's moving in a forward direction toward something, some kind of addition eruption."

When the government increased the Volcano Alert Level to 3 following today's steam eruption, geologists said it means an eruption is "imminent."
Tom Pearson of the USGS elaborated, saying that means an eruption could happen within the next 24 hours.
Since 9/11, our lexicon for danger has been quantified by alert levels.
It makes sense then, that the USGS would also quantify volcanic danger with its own alert scheme. Levels make sense. They're almost tangible.
Here's an explanation of the different levels.

The average person likely uses the terms interchangeably.
But not the USGS. Here's the context, followed by the difference:
Context: For the last week, hundreds of small earthquakes have been recorded. Following today's steam eruption, the USGS started detecting volcanic tremor activity.
The significance: Tremor activity indicates the movement of magma.
That difference has prompted the evacuation of 2,500 to 3,000 from the Johnston Ridge Observatory.

From the AP:
Government seismologists raised the alert level for Mount St. Helens on Saturday after its second steam eruption in two days was followed by a powerful tremor. They said the next blast could threaten life and property in the remote area near the volcano.

The seismic activity is continuing Saturday. (Note: There aren't any readings from the "dome station" -- it was knocked out with yesterday's steam eruption).
The USGS reports:

The current level of seismic energy release is slightly above where it was prior to the eruption yesterday ... As a result, additional steam-and-ash eruptions similar to yesterdays’s could occur at any time.

Small earthquakes are returning. After the eruption this afternoon, seismic activity stopped. But bit by bit, earthquakes are showing up on the seisomographs. Scientists continue to study the results.

"I think this absolutely fabulous," one caller to a cable news network said Friday afternoon.

Many armchair volcanologists have been calling in throughout the afternoon sharing their prognostications on future volcano activity.

Some believe the volcano is just warming up for another series of mid-80s-like explosions that would build the lava dome, while others believe this is it.

But most are either thrilled with the current activity or simply underwhelmed with the relatively small scope of the explosion.

Some are wondering if the explosions at St. Helens will trigger blasts in the other volcanos in the Cascade Range.

Actual geologists, known for their weatherman-like vagueness on any kind of precise volcano prediction, are not committing to anything.

A graph of recent activity at Mount St. Helens:

Cars in the Vancouver, Wash., area are seeing a not-so-familiar coating. A light dusting of ash has been accumulating througout the afternoon. Winds have taken the ash southwest from the mountain.

Jim Major of the USGS said people should not use their hands to dust it off, or they could scratch their cars. The dust is actually composed of fine rock particulate.

"This is not unusual or extraordinary by any means," said Jon Major, a USGS Geologist during a press conference at 2:35 p.m. Friday.

Seismic activity dropped off right after the explosion but has been picking up recently, he said. The volcano's alert level remains at Level II. Most geologists talking about the eruption refuse to say it's a "small" event but instead say "relatively small" or "somewhat small."

They also refer to the explosion as a "cold" event, cold being a relative term as hot steam did exit the mountain. But since lava did not come out of the mountain, it's not considered a "hot" eruption.

"This could be Mount Saint Helens' attempt to say, 'Hey I'm still a live volcano, don't write me off,'" Major said.

"There's a great since of relief right now," that geologists had predicted this and knew it was going to happen, he said.

"It's finally done something," Major said.

Scientists believe that a 1998 period of activity pushed magma closer underneath the mountain, and that this recent activity has been a result of that incursion of magma.

Scientists expect an update of information coming soon.

Geologists studying the volcano are unsure if this afternoon's eruption signals the end of the current volcanic activity at Mount St. Helens. Some say this could be the end, but others think the eruption allowed pressure to release. This could mean magma would be creeping closer to the surface of the mountain. Updates will come as they're found.

Recent rumbles deep in the Earth have stirred up memories of "Where were you?" stories.

Over at Jack Bog's Blog, he remembers camping 35 miles southeast of the volcano when it exploded in 1980.

When we got up and looked around, there was a huge cloud blackening the entire sky to the north of us, clear skies off to the south. Before we could shake off the cobwebs and figure it out, an older man came running through the campground. "Mount St. Helens is erupting!" he yelled. "They're seeing lava up there! Get out of here quick!" And he ran off.

We looked at each other and asked: "Do we have time for a quick shower?"

Those who are eager and champing at the bit for the volcano to blow off may have to be a bit more patient. As the older folks around may recall, Mount St. Helens' May 18, 1980 eruption was preceded by two months of agonizing tedium. Scientists would report an earthquake here, or a new crack in the ice there, and people got used to it.

It was only on a completely unpredictable day that the volcano decided to blow its top. This extremely detailed and interesting account of the events leading up to the explosion is produced by the USGS.

So don't get too excited yet, there could still be plenty of time left. Predicting volcano eruptions is clearly not an exact science.