Clear weather over the last week has allowed good views of part of the summit of the lava dome. These views have shown that the lava dome is continuing to change rapidly.

 The two views in the photographs (taken from the MVO 6 km to the northwest) show the northeastern part of lava dome on the 29 and 30 January 2010. The lava dome has a very steep almost overhanging face with small spiny protuberances on the northeast side on 29 January. By the next day the same area can be seen to have changed markedly without the spiny appearance.  It is likely that some of the material has fallen off during the formation of a pyroclastic flow. Incandescence (glowing) at night has shown that the summit of the lava dome is active and that material is actively growing and then being shed as pyroclastic flows.