I am reading with interest accounts of Mount St. Helen’s eruption yesterday (photo of eruption). In 1980 when it erupted, I was nearby in the following week. I visited Moscow, Idaho, and the ground was covered in volcanic ash several inches thick. It looked like it had snowed.
It is good to see that they have increased the use of technology to monitor activity around the volcano so as to minimize risk of injury and death. An October 2004 C|Net article explains how remote cameras, sensors and GPS units constantly monitor to volcano to follow what is going on.
When I left the area in 1980, I packed up several large zip lock baggies of the ash to bring it back for friends and a college science teacher. Imagine the difficulties I had at the airport as a long haired college kid going through the security x-ray when four or five zip lock baggies of white powdery substance shows up. Of course after some explanation they offered to give me more of the stuff and I got on the plane.
