Mount St. Helens: 46 Years After the Big Blast

Street Smart Naturalist · May 21, 2026 · 8m

As has happened every year since 1981, we in the PNW noted the anniversary this week of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. At 8:32 AM on May 18, 1980, the mountain erupted for the first time since the 1850s. We couldn’t see the eruption from our house in Seattle but I have a vivid memory of watching the coverage on our black and white television. I was in awe of the seething mushroom cloud of ash and debris, the scary-looking tree-choked rivers, and the cloud of blackness that shrouded nearby towns and cities. (If I remember correctly, my brother was driving home from college and didn’t have a…