Mt. St Helens By jt400 Mar 13, 1980 18 Small bursts of steam shoot out of the volcano Mar 24, 1980 Blockage in the volcano Mar 27, 1980 Mt. St Helen's has been dormant for 123 years. May 11, 1980 Ground begins trembling during an interview May 15, 1980 Heat from the volcano melts ice cap sending billions of gallons of water down the mountain 8:55 am May 18, 1980 5.1 magnitude earthquake hits mountain ripping it apart and causing it to erupt May 18, 1980 Two more huge blasts crumble the mountain 8:33 am May 18, 1980 Many people trying to escape the eruption 8:38 am May 18, 1980 18 megatons worth of TNT erupted from the volcano 9:01 am May 18, 1980 Ash cloud from volcano heads east 9:45 am May 18, 1980 Ash cloud from the volcano becomes the size of West Virginia, reaching all way to Yakima, Washington 10:10 am May 18, 1980 More refugees found, few people dead May 21, 1980 Jimmy Carter flies over the blast zone of the volcano May 25, 1980 Minor 2nd eruption, minor damage Jun 1, 1980 More bodies found in the blast zone Mar 27, 1985 Small explosion heard by the people 12:03pm May 18, 1985 Many people still caught in the eruption; only few found May 18, 1985 Ash becomes so thick it is difficult to see the ground 2:00 pm