 By January 31, volcanic earthquakes increased to several per hour, and a large hole in the glacier on the side of the mountain was spotted. Scientists began to monitor seismic data from the mountain twenty-four hours a day in an effort to warn people in nearby communities. A flyover conducted by the AVO detected "significant steaming from a new melt depression at the mouth of the summit crater near the vent area of the 1989-90 eruption."
