May 8, 2008: Volcano

[Imigo Jones]

barefoot serpent, cool pic. I have a question below.

Today's the 38th anniversary of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens.



I remember that day as being disastrous at the two opposite corners of the United States, with Mt. St. Helens in Washington and riots in Miami. Here's a page with the text of the Mt. St. Helens story.

So, barefoot serpent, I was going to ask whether you remember the east-west movement of the MSH ash plume back in 1980. It arrived over the Midwest on, I think, May 20. Even at this distance and dilution, the air smelled faintly of sulphur.

More odd was how the light was changed. Whether from sulphur in the air between you and objects down on ground level, or from atmospheric filtering of the sunlight, everything looked barely tinted yellow, as though the CSI: Miami cinematographer had grabbed the wrong filter. Actually, the yellow wasn't that strong (CSI: Miasma is like swimming in orange juice), but just enough to give you the sense that something was wrong. It was like how the light of a partial solar eclipse, or even of a heavy ozone day, is strange.

[barefoot serpent]

Originally Posted by Imigo Jones

So, barefoot serpent, I was going to ask whether you remember the east-west movement of the MSH ash plume back in 1980. It arrived over the Midwest on, I think, May 20. Even at this distance and dilution, the air smelled faintly of sulphur.

Sorry, I was living in So. Cal. then. But, yes, the ash cloud was probably large enough to effect the atmosphere this far downrange. There are various ash deposits in Kansas from ancient eruptions: Crater Lake, OR, Valles Caldera (New Mexico), Yellowstone Caldera, and the Long Valley Caldera, CA. Each of those make the Mt. St. Helens eruption look like a hiccup...

[dar512]

Originally Posted by Imigo Jones

So, barefoot serpent, I was going to ask whether you remember the east-west movement of the MSH ash plume back in 1980. It arrived over the Midwest on, I think, May 20. Even at this distance and dilution, the air smelled faintly of sulphur.

We have friends in Seattle that lived in Yakima during the MSH incident. They tell some scary stories about the amount of ash that fell and the effects it had.

[xoxoxoBruce]

I was 50 miles north, in Centralia, WA.
They used snow plows to clear the 4 to 6 inches of ash in the motel parking lot. I've been wearing this belt buckle ever since.

[dar512]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

I was 50 miles north, in Centralia, WA.

Were you living out there or was that a vacation? I have you pegged in my mind as one of the Philly group.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Working for Westinghouse in Philly, at the Centralia power plant, till the middle of July that year.