Mt. St. Helens at Sunrise

Mt. St. Helens continues to spew ash, while it is forming a lava dome in the crater and still having
minor tremors.

Here in this sunrise shot, she appears to be blowing
smoke rings (and anything so benign is welcomed, given
recent history).

What forms the "smoke rings" is the air flowing over
the mountain getting pushed up higher as it goes up
and over the top. The moisture content and initial
temperature are just right so that the moisture
condenses from a vapor to small particles at the higher altitude. When the moving air moves past thepeak and comes d! own again, the particles evaporate
back to an invisible vapor.

higher altitude. When the moving air moves past the
peak and comes d! own again, the particles evaporate
back to an invisible vapor.

The two "pancakes" descri be that there are two layers
of air for which this is happening, thus making this
awesome picture possible.

Picture by Brent and Jan LeBaron