Photographs from a day observing Mt. St. Helens on Saturday, March 5, 2005. Left photo, the view from Coldwater Ridge Visitors Center. Right, a small steam plume at about 10:30 a.m. The mountain had returned to volcanic activity in October 2004. In the process, it built the "whale's back" lava ridge slightly visible in the center of the right photo.
Later in the day, lenticular clouds began forming above the mountain and the steam plume grew larger, possibly due to the cooler weather.
As the lenticular cloud burned off, St. Helens emitted even more steam. In the center of the left photo, there's a slight golden glow from the lava reflecting in the clouds.

Just after Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center closed in the late afternoon, the steam plume grew large enough for Portlanders to see it above the mountain's rim. The following Tuesday, Mt. St. Helens had a minor eruption, sending steam and ash 36,000 feet high; the ash traveled as far east as Montana.