User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
TX, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 12:29:27 AM EDT
[#1]
Shit was wild. Helens was a real shooter.
|
|
|
USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 12:37:46 AM EDT
[#2]
10.
Walla Walla, WA. Hardly any ash landed. |
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 1:14:27 AM EDT
[#3]
I was 20 living in what's now called South Lake Union, Seattle. Slept right through it. No ash, couldn't see any plume at all.
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 1:16:32 AM EDT
[#4]
It was surreal to watch. Huge ash cloud with lightning bolts. Still vividly remember it getting dark after the eruption and the ash starting to fall. Was a teenager when it happened. Smelled like the inside of a fireplace chimney outside. Gritty ash in the mouth and nose. Didn’t have a face mask so a bandana had to do. We were lucky that the ash plume largely traveled over us and only got a couple inches. Still sucked but not like Yakima and Moses Lake. I remember going hunting in Moses Lake about 20 years after. It was like walking on the moon in that desert area. Looked like dirt on top but 4-6” of ash underneath. The news coverage of the damage was unreal. Been to the mountain many times over the years. It’s a must see if you are in the area.
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 1:40:08 AM EDT
[#5]
I was scheduled to fly from Ca to Alaska for a pipeline job when she erupted, if ever there was a valid reason for not making a flight that was it.
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 1:52:22 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Giltweasel]
[#6]
Yes. I remember Harry Truman being interviewed on 60 minutes before the eruption. Thinking that as determined to stay as he was he'd for sure be alright.
Family took a trip from Missouri to Tacoma following the Oregon Trail, mostly. Dad took about 30 rolls of slides. Only about the first half turned out. Something happened to the shutter by Wyoming. It may have clogged with dust. He picked up canisters of ash along the whole route. When we got home he put them in piles and we could tell the finer, almost like flour, dust was from close to home. The further on the trip, and nearer the volcano, the grittier and darker the ash was. I think by the time we were in Montana and Idaho it had identifiable grains of what looked like pumice in it. I was 8 and remember it being overcast for a week or so after the ash cloud spread out. Our cars had a light dusting on them. Like a really bad pollen cloud. Generally I was more concerned that I would get an X-wing fighter for my birthday. I remember the eruption and aftermath because everyone made such a big deal about it. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 1:53:03 AM EDT
[#7]
Moi
|
|
|
|
IN, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 2:00:18 AM EDT
[#8]
Ya I remember . It was.a.thing . Not that big.of a.deal
In IN . I think I have a plastic baggy of the dust stuff |
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 2:03:09 AM EDT
[#9]
I do.
|
|
|
|
CA, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 2:16:42 AM EDT
[#10]
Yes, I remember, it took like 2 weeks for the whole thing to settle down.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 2:27:46 AM EDT
[#11]
I was 7. I remember it on TV one of the Three news channels.
|
|
|
|
FL, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 3:50:26 AM EDT
[#12]
I do. I remember the the time lapse pics of the volcano erupting and destroying the summit.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 3:57:28 AM EDT
[#13]
I was 3 months old and 200 miles away. So yes.
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 4:58:04 AM EDT
[#14]
24 years old. A small group of us rode to the Oregon coast on motorcycles from Eugene. We stopped at one of the coastal towns, grabbed some beer and women, and partied into the wee hours on the beach. We were waking up and chatting, still in the sleeping bags, when a big, unusual sounding boom came rolling through the atmosphere. We joked that it was the mountain erupting. Heard the news hours later when back in Eugene.
Several years later, our mountain search and rescue team was part of a combined training exercise with a couple Sheriff depts and a few other MSAR teams on St Helens. This was before it was open to the public. We did our thing while hiking to the top of the rim. Not long after, our group of mountain bikers rode across the Plain of Abraham, and through forests that were left standing. Eugene only got a light dusting. Prevailing winds don't come in from the north. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 6:27:45 AM EDT
[Last Edit: akcaribouhunter]
[#15]
I was six and living in Billings,MT.
Could not go out side when the ash fell because of my asthma for quite awhile. Dad quickly went out and bought extra airfilters for the dodge Aires station wagon plus panty hose to help filter the fine ash. We were dumb and never saved any ash.  |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 7:26:45 AM EDT
[#16]
I was visiting family in Portland that summer and saw one of the lesser eruptions. I remember the damage that the ash did to the paint on vehicles. The following summer when I flew there the pilot gave us an impressive view of the crater prior to landing.
|
|
|
|
FL, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 8:23:57 AM EDT
[#17]
I havent been alive that long
|
|
|
OH, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 8:26:43 AM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By d4xycrq: Go visit, if you get a chance. Museum is cool. You get to see rocks younger than you. And shame is, the one scientist that said the mountain was ‘dangerous and we’re too close’ was the poor bastard on watch when it blew. Never found him. Dr. David Johnston. He was a fellow ham radio operator as well. They found pieces of his camper when excavating for the road up to the new Observatory but never a trace of him. I have a few thoughts on where to look, although some things should remain undisturbed. The Wikipedia page on Dr. Johnston gives good insight to the eruption. Harry Glicken (another volcanologist) was supposed to be on station that morning. Ironically, Dr. Glicken was killed in practically the same manner while observing a volcano in Japan. |
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 8:35:23 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Makarov]
[#19]
I remember. I was 13. I too wondered where all the lava was
 Somewhere I still have a little bag of volcanic ash from the eruption.ETA- I lived in Florida at the time (native) so didn’t see any of the actual eruption, except on TV. However, I remember that days later the sunsets were more brilliant and they said that dust from the eruption was in the air in New York City. I don’t remember any dust but I remember the brilliant sunsets. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 8:48:54 AM EDT
[Last Edit: brass]
[#20]
I have a mason jar of the ash.
It was a blanket like snow all over south of Seattle and really messed up a lot of shit. If a similar event happened today, it would be declared a catastrophe and everything in the US would stop to assist them. Back then, some help was sent but the world didn't stop because of it. Today they'd funnel a few billion through relief efforts without actually doing much instead. We have fallen while claiming we're better than back then. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 8:59:36 AM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By AR18: I do. I remember the the time lapse pics of the volcano erupting and destroying the summit. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 9:09:37 AM EDT
[#22]
Thermal energy released was equal to 26 megatons of TNT.
per Wiki https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens |
|
|
|
TX, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 9:16:04 AM EDT
[#23]
There was ash on our cars in Northern Wisconsin. It was a big baddaboom!
|
|
|
OH, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 9:33:08 AM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By JarheadPatriot: Thermal energy released was equal to 26 megatons of TNT. per Wiki https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens When analyzed, the eruption also provided insights into how lateral blasts occur in stratovolcanoes. Bezymianny on the Kamchatka Peninsula is another volcano which erupted in this manner during recent historical times: May 2023 synopsis and mention of the event |
|
|
GA, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 9:35:48 AM EDT
[#25]
We got a light dusting of ash here in GA. I was working evenings, when the shift ended and we got to the parking lot it looked like a black and white picture.
|
|
|
NH, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 9:48:19 AM EDT
[#26]
I do and l remember the amazing sunsets for the three years after the eruption. It changed the sky even on the East Coast.
|
|
|
MT, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 10:01:00 AM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By AardvarkRatnik: I was 10 years old. We lived right on the beach in Deep Cove/Indian Arm British Columbia. It blew out all the windows on the south side of the house. I dunno what would have blown out the windows in a house in BC, but it wouldn't have been St Helens. |
|
|
AL, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 10:04:16 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Flysc]
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By d4xycrq: Go visit, if you get a chance. Museum is cool. You get to see rocks younger than you. And shame is, the one scientist that said the mountain was ‘dangerous and we’re too close’ was the poor bastard on watch when it blew. Never found him. Had not heard that, though the story was HS days for me. I do remember the interview with the old man who lived at Spirit Lake. His name was Harry Truman. 😀 They kept warning him about the mountain popping off. He was like: "Fuckit.... I'm old... lived my life, raised a family...love my home...if it is destroyed, i might as well go out with it...if the mountain pops, so what." It did. Edit. Just found the Wiki on Truman. Article states he and his 16 cats (likely) died of "heat shock in less than a second". A fourth of a large mountain hit him instantly. I doubt anything resembling "remains" could be ever found. Vaporized Harry R Truman |
|
|
NC, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 10:17:39 AM EDT
[#29]
I was 16. We bought a souvenir vial of ash by mail order. Who knows where it came from?
My son wants to be a geologist. He was digging through my childhood treasures last time we were visiting Grandma's house. Found the vial and she gave it to him. Its once again a prized possession. Thanks Helen |
|
|
OR, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 10:39:13 AM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By JimGriff: We bought a souvenir vial of ash by mail order. I was 10, and EVERYTHING was covered in a couple of inches of ash. I had to help shovel it off the walk and driveway like it was snow. I remember thinking "People are buying this crap? Come help shovel a sidewalk and you can have as much as you want for free." |
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 10:49:52 AM EDT
[Last Edit: realwar]
[#31]
The Tale of Harry R. Truman and Mount St. Helens
 The Tale of Harry R. Truman and Mount St. Helens - A Velodus Mix RAW VIDEO: MOUNT ST. HELENS. MAY 15TH, 1980. 3 DAYS BEFORE THE ERUPTION  RAW VIDEO: MOUNT ST. HELENS. MAY 15TH, 1980. 3 DAYS BEFORE THE ERUPTION. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 10:51:12 AM EDT
[#32]
|
|
|
|
FL, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 10:55:03 AM EDT
[#33]
It was my 32nd birthday. Yeah, I am old, older than my husband even, but I still love him.
|
|
|
MI, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 11:08:32 AM EDT
[#34]
I remember that there was a very light coating of ash on the cars days later in Michigan.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 11:10:04 AM EDT
[#35]
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 11:15:08 AM EDT
[Last Edit: mac130]
[#36]
I remember when in happened and thought it was horrific.
On a side note: I lost everything I owned in a volcano years later. Mt Pinatubo, 1991, Philippines   
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 11:16:43 AM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By AnalogKid: Dr. David Johnston. He was a fellow ham radio operator as well. They found pieces of his camper when excavating for the road up to the new Observatory but never a trace of him. I have a few thoughts on where to look, although some things should remain undisturbed. The Wikipedia page on Dr. Johnston gives good insight to the eruption. Harry Glicken (another volcanologist) was supposed to be on station that morning. Ironically, Dr. Glicken was killed in practically the same manner while observing a volcano in Japan. Volcanologist is a cool job. I'd do that in the next life. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 11:24:31 AM EDT
[#38]
I was 21 at the time. Yes indeed, I do remember. I remember being stunned that it happened in the continental US., not that I didn't understand that volcanos erupt regardless of where they are
 , but from my childhood until then we would hear about tornados, floods and earthquakes... then BOOM huge volcanic eruption complete with a very large avalanche of debris, magma and a big pyroclastic flow and lahars. 
|
|
|
|
WA, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 11:31:56 AM EDT
[#39]
I did not live in WA at the time, so only read and watched a few videos about it.
Could really appreciate the size and proportions when visiting the site with my family after moving to WA. What nature can do is really impressive and shows humans are still nothing. |
|
|
WA, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 11:44:14 AM EDT
[#40]
I was in HS, and friend an I were camping just outside the red zone when it erupted.
I told the story last year in a similar thread, so no need to say it again. I'll just say it was pretty crazy and will never forget it. |
|
|
WA, USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 12:37:05 PM EDT
[#41]
Yes I was eight, families living in Spokane WA. There is still ash around if you know what you are looking at.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 12:45:49 PM EDT
[#42]
I remember it well...
the videos from the news were fascinating. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 1:17:22 PM EDT
[#43]
I was just getting ready to leave S.F. for Buffalo. So it is only a faint memory of TV News and news print.
|
|
|
|
USA
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 1:25:53 PM EDT
[#44]
Before I was born but I've climbed it many times
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 1:27:04 PM EDT
[#45]
I graduated from high school that day. I remember it very well.
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 2:13:30 PM EDT
[#46]
I was 13 and remember seeing it on the news. We saw no effects of it in Austin, TX.
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 2:23:49 PM EDT
[#47]
My father and I were visiting Seattle at the time to yes we saw it.
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Rossi: I did not live in WA at the time, so only read and watched a few videos about it. Could really appreciate the size and proportions when visiting the site with my family after moving to WA. What nature can do is really impressive and shows humans are still nothing. When on a helicopter tour, President Carter ask if there are other natural disasters that could cause damage of this magnitude. The expert with him replied that, on a geologic scale, the damage was ‘insignificant’ compared to what nature was capable of doing. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 2:30:26 PM EDT
[#48]
Robert Landsburg and Reid Blackburn Took their final photos of it erupting, their cameras were found though they died in the incident.
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 2:40:25 PM EDT
[#49]
I remember. I flew over it about a month after it blew in a PSA flight. The pilot did a couple of steep turns around it so each side of the plane could see. Surface of the Moon, with smoke.
I was wearing my sailor suit so they comped me up to first class. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 5/19/2024 4:08:53 PM EDT
[#50]
I remember idiots spouting off that "it will never grow vegetation again!" "Never" turned out to be the next spring. 
|
|
|
|
Win a FREE Membership!
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.
