Mount St Helens erupts

Mount St Helens, the volcano that blew its top with cataclysmic force in 1980, erupted for the first time in 18 years today, belching a huge column of white steam and ash after days of rumblings.

“This is exactly the kind of event we have been predicting,” said US Geological Survey scientist Cynthia Gardner.

But the eruption in Washington state was nowhere near what happened 24 years ago, when 57 people were killed and towns 250 miles away were coated with ash.

About 20 minutes after today’s eruption, the mountain calmed and the plume began to dissipate.

The US National Weather Service notified the Federal Aviation Administration, in case planes needed to be rerouted.

The steam cloud poured from the southern edge of a 1,000ft tall lava dome in the volcano’s crater.

Steam frequently rises from the crater, but the 8,364ft peak had not erupted since 1986.

For the past week, scientists have detected thousands of earthquakes of increasing strength – as high as magnitude 3.3 – suggesting another eruption was on the way.