I was just up on Johnston Ridge on the 7th and unfortunately, from that vantage point, we couldn't see into the dome due to the cloud layer. From what my brother-in-law found out when talking to the rangers when I was watching the movie, it hadn't been clear into the dome since the previous week, when he'd been there with his niece. We got down the mountain and I looked back, and the whole mountain was clear EXCEPT for a cloud between Johnston Ridge and the dome - kind of freaky looking.
And as far as it spewing - remember that Cascade volcanoes aren't the same as Hawaiian ones - they tend to build up pressure and then let loose with big explosions - none of that 'molten lava flow' stuff in the Northwest (see, I paid attention during the movie!)
