The level of volcanic activity has been high overnight, with the small, repetitive hybrid earthquakes continuing at a rate of one per minute until the early morning. Since about 10 pm last night, increasing levels of rockfall have been recorded. At times in the early morning hours the rockfalls were nearly continuous, and produced an ash plume that drifted west to Foxes Bay. During the last hour, the seismicity has been dominated by moderate-amplitude tremor recorded at the closest stations.
The volcano has been cloudy this morning, so no good visual observations have been possible. The dome has been briefly visible from the Observatory, and does not appear to have changed significantly overnight.
The situation at the Soufriere Hills volcano remains very serious, and the scientific team continues to urge extreme caution. Visits to the evacuated zone should be kept to a minimum. The Tar River, Whites and Long Ground areas are at risk from pyroclastic flows that could happen without warning, and those areas should not be entered under any circumstances.