42 Years Montana Remembers The Deadly Eruption of Mount St Helens

It is a crazy time we are living in right now. This pandemic had us feeling like we were living through a historical event. The Russia/Ukraine war has us feeling like we are on the brink of World War III. Not to mention just the overall political chaos. It is enough to make a person feel really uneasy. But, I'm sure that is how just about everyone felt on this day 42 years ago. On May 18th, 1980, Mount St Helens erupted, spreading volcanic ash across much of the western United States.

According to Wikipedia

The eruption, which had a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5, was the most significant to occur in the contiguous 48 U.S. states since the much smaller 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California. It has often been declared the most disastrous volcanic eruption in U.S. history. The eruption was preceded by a two-month series of earthquakes and steam-venting episodes, caused by an injection of magma at shallow depth below the volcano that created a large bulge and a fracture system on the mountain's north slope.

For those in Montana who remember the explosion, they tell stories of scooping volcanic ash like fresh snow. As the eruption blasted tons of ash into the sky spreading it to 11 states. Just the thought of the volcanic eruption will leave you in awe of the destructive force of mother nature.