Uploaded May 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
USGS scientist Don Swanson speeds to Pearson Airpark and takes off at 9:20 AM, thinking back to the surreal events that unfolded that morning. Swanson was readying to drive to Coldwater II when the seismograph went wild. He dashed up to the radio room and radioed Dave Johnston but got no response. By radio and telephone came reports of a huge eruption. They radioed Coldwater II several times, but no answer.
From the plane, Swanson sees a tremendous gray column standing above Mount St. Helens. A roiling, dark column pumps and convects—dirty cauliflower with every knob moving, the outside of the column rotating up to the right, a twisting helix. It looks very slow, but from its enormous size, it must be very fast. All this time lightning flashes every few seconds within the ash column.
Twice, the clouds pull back enough to see the column jet from a great hole. Swanson radios back—the top of the mountain’s gone! By 10:38, the lower part of the column narrows, and they see the edges of a mile-wide crater where the summit had been. At 10:50, they see the new crater isn’t circular. The north side has blown away. Swanson can hardly believe what he sees.
Gray ash boils over the rim. At 11:19, dark-gray mud flows down the southwest flank and by 11:40, invades Butte Camp flat. Small mudflows creep down the south flanks; the hot blocks falling high on the cone, melting snow and ice. Lahars.
Video Copyright © USGS
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USGS scientist Don Swanson speeds to Pearson Airpark and takes off at 9:20 AM, thinking back to the surreal events that unfolded that morning. Swanson was readying to drive to Coldwater II when the seismograph went wild. He dashed up to the radio room and radioed Dave Johnston but got no response. By radio and telephone came reports of a huge eruption. They radioed Coldwater II several times, but no answer.
From the plane, Swanson sees a tremendous gray column standing above Mount St. Helens. A roiling, dark column pumps and convects—dirty cauliflower with every knob moving, the outside of the column rotating up to the right, a twisting helix. It looks very slow, but from its enormous size, it must be very fast. All this time lightning flashes every few seconds within the ash column.
Twice, the clouds pull back enough to see the column jet from a great hole. Swanson radios back—the top of the mountain’s gone! By 10:38, the lower part of the column narrows, and they see the edges of a mile-wide crater where the summit had been. At 10:50, they see the new crater isn’t circular. The north side has blown away. Swanson can hardly believe what he sees.
Gray ash boils over the rim. At 11:19, dark-gray mud flows down the southwest flank and by 11:40, invades Butte Camp flat. Small mudflows creep down the south flanks; the hot blocks falling high on the cone, melting snow and ice. Lahars.
Video Copyright © USGS
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Twitter : twitter.com/geologypage
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Tumblr: geologypage.tumblr.com
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