Kīlauea volcano enters fourth eruptive episode following two week pause

The summit eruption at Kīlauea volcano that began on Dec. 23 appears to have entered its forth eruptive episode this morning at about 9:15 a.m. with a small lava flow exiting the north vent, following low-level continuous lava spattering that started around 5:40 a.m. from the same vent.

All eruptive activity remains confined to the north vent area. No unusual activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

Seismicity in the summit region remains low, with only five small earthquakes (below M2.0) detected in the past 24 hours. Seismic tremor remains near background levels, indicative of minimal activity.

Overnight webcam views showed continued glow from the northern eruptive vent, with minimal to no glow from the southern eruptive vent, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Since about 5:40 a.m. this morning, there has been low-level continuous lava spattering from the north vent, which culminated in a lava flow exiting the north vent at about 9:15 a.m.

The current eruption at the summit of Kīlauea is the sixth eruption within Kaluapele since 2020. These eruptions in the summit region have lasted from one week to more than a year in duration. Like most of the other eruptions, this event began with vigorous lava effusion and volcanic gas emissions, but it has paused three times.

Episodes 2 and 3 of this eruption were preceded by re-inflation of the summit, as has Episode 4 which appears to have just began.

Summit eruptions observed over the past 60 years have exhibited vigorous activity in the opening days which can episodically wax and wane, or drop over time to more sustainable low effusion rates, or slowly diminish and end.