There are three levels of alert as issued by USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory, Alert Level 3 being the highest. At the moment Mount St Helens is on Alert Level 2. This means that monitoring has shown that hazardous volcanic activity is likely, but there is no immediate danger to life or property in the area.

On 23 September 2004 the current activity began with a number of small earthquakes, which were followed on 1 October by an explosion which threw out steam and ash and hurled rocks up to half a mile away. A larger explosion four days later blew ash up to 60 miles away and on 6 October a new lava dome began to emerge.

After this lava began to vent from the crater on top of the mountain at a rate of four cubic meters per second, with enough force to push a 180m (590ft) thick glacier aside. By December, enough had oozed out to create a dome the size of an aircraft carrier and by February it was taller than the Empire State Building, reaching a height of 425m (1,400ft) above the crater floor.

There was a further eruption on 8 March 2005, when a cloud of ash and smoke reached almost 12,000m (40,000ft) into the sky.

As of August 2005 the lava dome inside the crater continues to grow at a slower rate and there are low rates of seismic activity. There is minor ash production along with low emissions of steam and volcanic gases.

The Gifford Pinchot National Park has announced that most areas that were closed last September because of the volcanic activity will be open as usual for the summer, but Mount St Helens is to remain closed to climbers until further notice.

Thanks to the internet you can keep an eye on the current situation on Mount St Helens wherever you are in the world. You can read regular updates and there is even a 'VolcanoCam' so that you can watch what's going on.