What is in the air near Mount St. Helens? It's volcanic ash from 1980! Volcanic ash resuspension at Mount St. Helens occurs when wind picks up loose ash and fine volcanic sediment deposited by past eruptions, carrying it back into the atmosphere. At Mount St. Helens, ash resuspension can occur when strong winds disturb exposed volcanic deposits, particularly in unvegetated areas of the crater, Pumice Plain, and surrounding landscape. Unlike a new eruption, this process does not involve fresh magma or newly erupted material. The Cascades Volcano Observatory update for Friday, October 16, 2026: All volcanoes in the Cascade Range of Oregon and Washington were at normal background levels. During the past week, small earthquakes were detected at Mount Hood, Mount Rainier, and Mount St. Helens. This week, field crews performed maintenance on monitoring stations at Three Sisters and Mount Rainier. On Thursday 15 Oct 2026, strong southeasterly winds resuspended volcanic ash in the vicinity of Mount St. Helens. The National Weather Service estimated that that the resulting ash cloud reached a maximum altitude of 12,000 ft (3,658 m) above sea level. This phenomenon is not the result of recent volcanic activity and occurs during times of high winds and dry, snow-free conditions in the Mount St. Helens region. 📷 View of the resuspended ash from the Mount St. Helens Coldwater Science and Learning Center on October 15, 2026. It appears as a large tan colored cloud that blocks the view of the mountain. Photo: T. Schenk, USFS

Kīlauea Eruption Update — Episode 55 of lava fountaining!    After nearly two months since episode 54 of lava fountaining (Aug. 25, 2026), episode 55 of Kīlauea summit lava fountaining began at 3:19 a.m. HST this morning, October 17, and is ongoing. 

This is the 55th lava fountaining episode in the Kīlauea summit caldera eruption in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park that began on December 23, 2024. It occurs following weeks of intermittent spatter, low-dome fountains, and lava flows from the eruptive vent complex. The lava fountain from the north vent reached an estimated 700 feet high above the vent around 5 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time.

The eruptive plume is reaching an estimated 25,000 feet above sea level. According to the National Weather Service, winds are blowing from the north-northeast direction, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed to the south-southwest.  Fountaining episodes typically last 12 hours or less, but ash can remain in the air for longer depending on wind and weather conditions. 

Please stay aware of hazards and rely on official updates from USGS, National Weather Service, and Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. 

🎥 Video of episode 55 on October 17, 2026. 

#Kilauea #Eruption #Lava

Six new eruptive vents opened along the western wall of Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea on Sept. 14-16, 2026. 🌋 Data from tiltmeters, GPS, satellite radar, and lava chemistry indicate the vents were fed by the same shallow magma chamber that supplies Kīlauea's recent lava-fountaining episodes. Surprisingly, the vents opened with little seismicity or surface deformation, suggesting highly pressurized magma found an existing or easily created pathway to the surface. With continued pressurization beneath Kīlauea, additional changes remain possible both above and below ground. More information: usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/n… 🗺️/📷: Map and photos show ground deformation around the summit of Kīlauea from September 11-17, 2026, and plot shows erupted lava geochemistry. #Kilauea #VolcanoWatch #Geochemistry