Episode 38 of Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at Kīlauea creates rapidly growing lava fountains

Episode 38 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at Kīlauea began at 8:45 a.m. HST on Saturday, Dec. 6 with steeping increasing tremor and decreasing tilt, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Sustained lava fountains approximately 50-100 feet are currently erupting from the north vent. Fountain heights are increasing rapidly and are coming from both the left and right vents within the north cone, the HVO reports.

Past episodes have produced incandescent lava fountains over 1,000 feet high that produce eruptive plumes up to 20,000 feet above ground level.

“The spilt nature of the north vent suggest episode 38 may produce lower fountains similar to episode 37 when the same two vents existed in the north cone,” the HVO reports.

According to the National Weather Service, winds are blowing from the north northeast at about 10 mph, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed south of Halemaʻumaʻu.

• All eruptive activity is confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park; commercial airports in Hawaiʻi County will not be affected by this activity.
• Three Kīlauea summit livestream videos that show eruptive lava fountains are available here: https://www.youtube.com/@usgs/streams
• KPcam and MKcam provide views of the plume height for aviation purposes

Episode 38 was preceded by small, sporadic spatter fountains and six precursory overflows from the north vent that began at approximately 12:50 p.m. Dec. 5, according to HVO scientists. Continuous overflows began at 3:37 a.m. HST and increased in intensity until 8:45 a.m., when sustained fountaining began, the HVO reports.

Most episodes of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since Dec. 23, 2024, have continued for around a day or less and have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting generally at least several days. 

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

No changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. 

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