VANCOUVER, Wash. — The recent volcanic activity in Hawaii has Washingtonians worried about local eruptions with five active volcanoes, two of which are in range of Whatcom and Skagit Counties.
Mount Baker in Whatcom County and Glacier Peak in Snohomish pose eruption threats.
Seth Moran with the U.S. Geological Survey tells The Seattle Times that unlike the spewing magma of Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea, Washington’s volcanoes release dangerous volcanic mud flows and ash.
Moran says that an eruption will be preceded by days of seismic movement that signal the upcoming volcanic activity.
The Department of Natural Resources says it is difficult to know exactly when or where the next eruption will happen, but scientists are stationed throughout the region constantly monitoring seismic activity.