Update: Episode 12 of Kīlauea eruption ends after 22 hours

Update:

Episode 12 of the Halemaʻumaʻu eruption of Kīlauea within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park ended at 10:37 a.m. on March 5 after just under 22 hours of continuous eruptive activity. Fountaining from the south vent ceased at 10:35 a.m. at the same time summit deflation changed to inflation and tremor decreased. Current hazards include volcanic gas emissions and windblown volcanic glass (Pele’s Hair) that may impact Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and nearby communities. 

Previous post:

Kīlauea began erupting intermittent sluggish lava flows at 7:30 a.m. HST March 4 within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park marking the start of episode 12, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Small, sluggish flows first erupted from the south vent between 7:30 and 7:50 HST followed by similar flows from the north vent between 9:33 and 9:45 a.m. HST.  Lava fountaining marking the main phase of episode 12 is likely to start later today or tomorrow.

These flows mark the sporadic start of episode 12 of Kīlauea’s ongoing eruption in Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Kaluapele (the summit caldera) that began on Dec. 23, 2024.  Prior to this, there have been 11 episodes of lava fountaining separated by pauses in activity. All eruptive activity is occurring in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. No significant changes have been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

Current hazards include volcanic gas emissions and windblown volcanic glass (Pele’s Hair) that may impact Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and nearby communities.

The current eruption is marked by episodic fountaining not seen in any of the other Halemaʻumaʻu eruptions since 2020. Fountains and lava flows have erupted from two vents that we refer to as the north vent and south vent. The previous episodes lasted from a few hours to over a week. Each fountaining episode has been accompanied by strong deflation of the summit region. Pauses between the fountaining episodes have been marked by an immediate change from deflation to inflation as the magma chamber recharges and repressurizes.

The start of sporadic overflows from the north and south vents mark the onset of episode 12 of the current eruption within Tuesday March 4 to Thursday March 6 the window of probability.

Episode 4 of the eruption was also preceded by several hours of sluggish overflows prior to the onset of fountaining.  The intermittent nature of todays overflows differs slightly, but is also related pushing of degassed magma from the vent prior to fountaining.  The onset of fountaining is expected to start either later today or tomorrow.  

Timeline of eruptive episodes since Dec. 23, 2024: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/science/eruption-information

See the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park website for visitor information: https://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm.