At first glance, what appeared to be vapor rising from Mt. Rainier yesterday looked a little… er… precarious to those of us living nearby.

But fear not — the answer is less exciting than you might imagine. I LOL'd, although I think "normal volcanic activity is fairly exciting, so tried to smooth this out a bit

Early spotters hypothesized that the puff that appeared to be leaking from the peak was the result of a new vent, oan opening in the volcano that gasses or magma can leak out of. But the National Park Service quickly confirmed that it was just a weirdly shaped lenticular cloud. Whew, we're relieved — even if the jokes were funny.

Just in case you needed some more reassurance, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) is coincidentally on the mountain installing a new volcano monitoring system — and they've also confirmed no new activity.

But if you live for a thrill, September is also National Preparedness Month — citizens are encouraged to think about their plans in the event of a natural disaster (perhaps a holiday for doomsday-ers?). You can see what to do in the event of an eruption on the USGS website or monitor volcanic activity on your own with the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.Excellent calls to action at the end here! Love this Custom Section!