Update: Episode 16 of Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at Kīlauea brings brilliant glow, 200 foot lava fountains

Update: 12:28 p.m., Tuesday, April 1, 2025

The high fountain phase of episode 16 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began at 10:24 a.m. HST on April 1, 2025, about 12 hours after the start of the episode. Fountaining from the south vent rapidly increased to over 200 feet (70 meters) in height by 10:40 a.m. HST and exceeded 700 feet (215 m) by 10:50 a.m. HST. Low dome fountaining and overflows continue from the north vent. 

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Episode 16 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at Kīlauea began at 10:57 p.m. HST on Monday, March 31 with the start of lava overflowing from the north vent.

Episode 16 was preceded by weak spattering in the north vent that began at approximately 5:20 p.m. HST on March 31, 2025. Since 6 p.m. HST, spattering became continuous and increased to low fountaining (15-30 feet high).

“Lava level gradually rose in the vent and is now overflowing out of the north vent cone onto the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu. Each of the prior 15 episodes ultimately involved significant lava fountaining, with the fountains of episode 15 exceeding 1,000 feet (305 meters) in height. High lava fountains are likely to follow the current dome fountaining and lava flows within 24 hours or less,” according to a status update from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Visitors to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and residents of adjacent areas may be exposed to Peleʻs hair and other small fragments of volcanic glass and tephra being carried in the plume, as they were during episode 15.

Each episode of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since Dec. 23, 2024, has continued for 13 hours to 8 days, and episodes have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting less than 24 hours to 12 days. 

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

Kīlauea Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code remain at WATCH/ORANGE. All current and recent activity is within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.