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Mount Rainier is not venting; it's just a cloud
The United States Geological Survey wants to emphasize that the mountain is not erupting and that the cloud behavior above the peak is not unusual.
MOUNT RAINIER, Wash. - Mount Rainier, which is an active volcano, put on a show Wednesday morning and officials confirmed that it was a cloud above the peak.
The United States Geological Survey wants to emphasize that the mountain is not erupting. This behavior is "not unusual," officials said.
Steam appeared over the mountain and officials with USGS Volcanoes said it "seems to be a cloud."
Scientists have looked at the cloud that has caused concern from multiple webcams and they determined that it is a lenticular cloud. In addition, the USGS reports no indications of unusual seismic activity.
The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network monitors earthquakes and volcanoes, and said that had there been an explosion, the seismic and infrasound network would have shown evidence for that, but there were no unusual signals.
Officials said there are a number of USGS volcanologists at the volcano this week working on installing new monitoring equipment.
Scientists with Cascades Volcano Observatory are on site.
Mount Rainer is one of the state's iconic landscapes and ascends to 14, 410 feet sea level. It's also the most glaciated peak in the contiguous U.S.A., spawning five major rivers.