Could Mt. St. Helen's decide to erupt again?

Answer 1

Yes, it's an active volcano.

Answer 2

Mt. St. Helens is an active volcano. It has erupted many times in the past and will erupt again in the future.

;-D When the underground pressure is greater than the weight of the material above it, it will erupt. It just happens, but it is not a 'decision.'

Answer 3

Mt. St. Helens isn't a sentient being, and therefore doesn't have the ability to make decisions. However, if you are asking if Mt. St. Helens could erupt again, the answer is yes, and it most likely will. Mt. St. Helens is an active volcano with a very eruptive history.

Answer 4

Excerpt below from source below:

Mount St. Helens became active again on October 1, 2004, indicated initially by hundreds and then thousands of localized earthquakes, and followed by several significant emissions of steam and ash.


Appearance of the "Whaleback" in February 2005.Magma reached the surface of the volcano about October 11, 2004, resulting in the building of a new lava dome on the existing dome's south side. This new dome continued to grow throughout 2005 and into 2006. A number of transient features were observed, such as the "whaleback", which comprised long shafts of solidified magma being exuded by the pressure of magma underneath it. These features are very fragile and break down soon after they are formed. On July 2, 2005, the tip of the whaleback broke off, causing a rockfall that sent ash and dust several hundred meters into the air. (see USGS before and after images)

Mount St. Helens showed significant activity on March 8, 2005, when a 36,000-foot (11,000 m) plume of steam and ash emerged—visible from Seattle.[35] This relatively minor eruption was a release of pressure consistent with ongoing dome building. The release was accompanied by a magnitude 2.5 earthquake.

Another feature to grow from the dome is called the "fin" or "slab". Approximately half the size of a football field, the large, cooled volcanic rock was being forced upward as quickly as 6 feet (2 m) per day.[36][37] In mid-June 2006, the slab was crumbling in frequent rockfalls, although it was still being extruded. The height of the dome was 7,550 feet (2,301 m), still below the height reached in July 2005 when the whaleback collapsed.

On October 22, 2006, at 3:13 p.m. PST, there was a magnitude 3.5 earthquake that broke loose Spine 7. There was a collapse and avalanche of the lava dome that sent an ash plume 2,000 feet over the western rim of the crater; the ash plume then rapidly dissipated.

On December 19, 2006, a large white plume of condensing steam was observed leading to some media assuming that there had been a small eruption. However, the Cascades Volcano Observatory of the USGS does not mention any significant ash plume.[38] The volcano has been in continuous eruption since October 2004 but this eruption has in large part consisted of a gradual extrusion of lava forming a dome in the crater.

Answer 5

Mountains don't make decisions to erupt or not to erupt. They do so if the conditions for eruption are right. Mt St Helens is an active volcano so it could well erupt again. When? No-one knows but it will probably happen.

Answer 6

It's not up to Mt St Helens to "decide" to erupt. I don't think it's a conscious organism.
It could very well erupt again but nothing near the intensity of the original blast.

Answer 7

Yes it could. It still is an active volcano. Just a few months back, it started steaming again and that's what happened before it did erupt.

Answer 8

It has been....small eruptions..but yes another large one could happen.

Answer 9

It did last year. Probably could again this year.

Answer 10

sure... it is still active.