Every day or so I check the webcam trained on Mt St Helens. This mountain blew off its top in 1980. The US parks service mounted a Web cam on a nearby mountain, and trained it on the crater across the valley. It lets you observe mountain conditions; a friend who teaches Grade 3 students gets them to observe it from time to time.
The real reason for the web cam, of course, is to record the next eruption. Several summers ago, hoards of media camped out for several weeks, speculating that another eruption was imminent. It would have been much cheaper for them to hire someone to watch the webcam...
There is a fundamental flaw, however. What if the volcano comes to life when weather conditions are unsuitable for the show? Such as today's view:
* Rain and frost obscure the camera lens.
* Fog is common.
* I have seen snow drifts cover up the lens.
Let's hope that if it happens, it'll be a sunny day, like this one:
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