Mt. St. Helens A Bit Gassy

If you're flying down to Portland or California for the holidays, take your camera and plan on a slightly out-of-the-way trip. Currently, the lava dome is growing in size, and emitting relatively small amounts of steam and gas. That could change quickly into ash eruptions up to 30,000 feet, and cause planes to divert.

But it probably won't amount to much, right? The USGS says that "Small lahars could suddenly descend the Toutle River if triggered by heavy rain or by interaction of hot rocks with snow and ice." Hey, no worries!