"Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!" On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Mount St. Helens eruption: Witnesses recall terror, awe when mountain exploded

Updated: May. 18, 2021, 8:57 a.m. | Published: May. 18, 2020, 6:45 a.m.


{The picture at The Oregonian does not format correctly. I got this from Pinterest.}
A cloudless sky gives a couple a fine view of Mount St. Helens from the grounds of the Pittock Mansion, just two weeks before the mountain's eruption on May 18, 1980. (The Oregonian)Oregonian

By Douglas Perry | The Oregonian/OregonLive
“Mount St. Helens exploded in volcanic fury Sunday, unleashing massive mudflows, floods and other land-changing forces that killed at least nine persons, eliminated Washington’s Spirit Lake, and sent adrift an ash cloud that by Sunday night had moved as far as Wyoming.”

So began The Oregonian, reporting the top news of May 18, 1980.

{snip}

Forty-one years ago, Mount St. Helens cataclysmically erupted. The May 18, 1980, eruption and its effects were heavily photographed from numerous vantage points, but click here: http://ow.ly/fi1950ENRmL to view rarely seen archival footage of the rising ash column.

Link to tweet

MOUNT SAINT HELENS
Mount St. Helens in eruption, May 18, 1980
7,991 views•May 14, 2021

USGS
95.7K subscribers

Mount St. Helens erupted catastrophically on May 18, 1980 beginning at 8:32 a.m. USGS geologist Don Swanson photographed and filmed the eruption from about 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., documenting the rising ash column and ground-hugging pyroclastic density currents. Swanson filmed the eruption from a fixed-wing surveillance aircraft using a Bell & Howell hand-wound 16mm movie camera. The films were digitized and compiled into this video.

Video: https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/mount-st-helens-eruption-may-18-1980

Mount St. Helens in eruption, May 18, 1980

Mount St. Helens eruption: Witnesses recall terror, awe when mountain exploded https://trib.al/A35tbE5

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Events tied to 41st anniversary of Mount St. Helens blast muted due to COVID-19

Marissa Heffernan 12 hrs ago

The COVID-19 pandemic is once again making most events commemorating the 41st anniversary of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens virtual, but the mountain itself slowly is becoming open to the public as snow melts and pandemic restrictions ease.

On the morning of May 18 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted, blowing away the top of the mountain and triggering landslides, mud flows and floods that killed 57 people, destroyed 200 homes and flattened 230 square miles of forest.

Last year, an abundance of 40th anniversary of events had been planned, but were forced online or canceled when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the county and state.

{snip}

Two-hour timed reservations are available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from May 18 through Sept. 30 on recreation.gov.

Tuesday programs

While the Forest Service does not have big plans to mark year 41, Miller said its partners with the United States Geological Survey Cascade Volcano Observatory and the Mount St. Helens Institute will host several virtual events. ... The Cascade Volcano Observatory will hold a question and answer session on Reddit about volcanoes and earthquakes starting at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

{snip}

Sat May 18, 2024: "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!" On this day, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.

Thu May 18, 2023: On this day, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.

Tue May 18, 2021: On this day, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.

Mon May 18, 2020, 02:02 PM: Full recording of Gerry Martin's last transmission

Mon May 18, 2020, 01:12 PM: May 18, 1980 "The mountain has blown!"

Gerry was a volunteer ham radio operator. The camper he describes being overwhelmed around 2:07 is that of David Johnston, a scientist whose own last transmission was "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!"

From sl8:

Mon May 18, 2020, 08:03 AM: Iconic photo of Mount St. Helens and Ford Pinto, May 18, 1980:

[madamesilverspurs]

1. There was a thin layer of black dust in my apartment

a day or two later. I live in northeast Colorado.

Since then, most of my family has relocated to the Puget Sound area. My first flight to visit them took us right over Mt. St. Helens, still a breathtaking sight. Still have a solid "yikes" lingering in the back of my mind...


.


.

[Mme. Defarge]

2. Ash coated my house and front and back yards in Portland (Oregon)

and my teeth felt gritty.

[sboatcar]

3. Here's a picture I took in 2009 of it

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. I know just where you were standing. NT

[appalachiablue]

5. I well remember this huge event esp from friends who had recently moved to Seattle.