Wow. Mt. St. Helens appears to be getting ready to explode again. On a clear day, I can see St. Helens from my office building. I really hope it's a clear weekday when it happens. It won't be anything like the Big One in 1980, but even a small eruption could cover Portland in a fine layer of ash.

SEATTLE -- Scientists warn that a small or moderate blast could spew ash and rock as far as three miles from the crater around Mount St. Helens in the next few days.

The volcano began rumbling more intensely Wednesday, with earthquakes ranging from magnitude 2 to 2.8 coming about four times a minute and possibly weakening the lava dome in the crater of the 8,364-foot mountain, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quakes continued to intensify early Thursday with most exceeding magnitude 3 and centered slightly southwest of the dome, according to the Web site of the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network.

Scientists did not expect anything like the mountain's devastating eruption in 1980, which killed 57 people and coated towns 250 miles away with ash.

UPDATE (10/1): Small explosion today. Not yet clear if there's more to come. I saw it from the 33rd floor of my office building. Big clouds of steam and ash. Pretty cool.