Lava will likely be visible in Kīlauea lava lake tonight

The US Geological Survey issued a status update this afternoon involving the summit eruption at Kīlauea Volcano on Hawaiʻi Island.

According to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater, has remained nearly constant since the HVO Daily Update issued this morning.

“Based on previous observations, lava will likely be visible in the active lava lake this evening,” the HVO update stated.

The volcano alert level is currently at “Watch” and the aviation color code is “Orange.”

According to an update issued this morning, the HVO said:

Eruption of lava from the western vent into the active lava lake within Halemaʻumaʻu crater has continued over the past 24 hours with slight fluctuations in lava output with the active lava lake level remaining the same over this time interval. Short-lived overflows of the active western lava lake continue, as does lava erupting from the west vent and flowing to the south, west, and into the western lava lake. The active lava lake is now approximately 89 meters (292 feet) deep relative to when lava emerged on September 29, 2021. Measurements on Jan. 25, 2022, indicated that the total lava volume effused since the beginning of the eruption was approximately 45 million cubic meters (12.0 billion gallons) at that time.