#eruption
Uncertainty at Kīlauea summit prompts safety closures at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is temporarily closing Halemaʻumaʻu Trail and part of Byron Ledge Trail by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7 because of continued inflation and increased seismicity at the summit of Kīlauea volcano.
Precursory low-level activity occurs before episode 55 of ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at Kīlauea
Precursory low-level eruptive activity before episode 55 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began around 12:45 p.m. HST on Sept. 7, 2026, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports. This activity was marked with a sluggish overflow from the north vent.
Episode 51 of Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at Kīlauea sends lava 950 feet high, ash plume 18,000 feet into sky
Lava fountaining episode 51 in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea began around 8:30 a.m. on July 15 and ended abruptly at 4:46 p.m., after 8.3 hours of continuous fountaining from the north vent.
Volcano Watch — Remembering the 1926 Maunaloa eruption a century later
April marked the 100-year anniversary of Mauna Loa’s 1926 Southwest Rift Zone eruption. This eruption is most remembered for the destruction of Ho‘ōpūloa village, a few miles north of Miloliʻi Bay. It also marks the first known instance of aerial photography of an advancing Hawaiian lava flow, and well-organized police-led eruption crowd management.
Halemaʻumaʻu now has the most fountaining episodes ever recorded for an episodic fountaining eruption
Episode 48 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at the summit of Kīlauea ended abruptly at 1:37 p.m. HST on June 1, 2026, after 9 hours of continuous lava fountaining from the north vent. The eruption is currently paused.
UPDATE: Episode 46 lava fountaining ends at summit of Kīlauea, about 9 hours after it began
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that Episode 46 of the ongoing episodic summit eruption of Kīlauea volcano within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island ended shortly before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, after just more than 9 hours of continuous lava fountaining.
Update: Kīlauea’s eruption paused; Episode 45 ends after 8.5 hours of lava fountaining
Episode 45 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption ended abruptly at 10:01 a.m. HST on April 23, 2026, after 8.5 hours of continuous lava fountaining. The eruption is currently paused.
Lava spattering at Kīlauea calms, with experts forecasting potential change in eruptive window
There were no overflows from either of the Halemaʻumaʻu eruptive vents in the past 24 hours, according to the daily update from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Update: Episode 43 of Kīlauea eruption ends, tephra and ash blown into surrounding areas
Episode 43 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption ended at 6:21 p.m. on March 10, 2026, and the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption is currently paused.
Volcano Watch: Maunaloa has lessons to teach during quiet times
Maunaloa’s Volcano Alert Level is at Normal and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory expects to see changes such as increased seismicity or gas emissions before any future eruption; keeping a close eye on the volcanoes even during quiet times can teach important lessons that will inform interpretations and decisions as conditions change.
Volcano Watch — When it rained rocks: tephra fall during Kīlauea’s episode 41
Large lava fountains streamed from both the north and south vents reaching heights of at least 1475 feet during episode 41 of Kīlauea’s summit eruption on Jan. 24, 2026. Strong updrafts coupled with light winds blowing to the east and north sent lava fragments from the fountains, called tephra, over much of the District of Puna and into South Hilo and the eastern edge of Kaʻū.
After lava and tephra bury V3cam, new monitoring camera goes live at Kīlauea
Scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, in collaboration with the US Geological Survey, have installed a new livestream monitoring camera at Kīlauea on the Big Island.
Episode 28 ends abruptly after 9 hours; lava fountains reach 1200 feet
Episode 28 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption ended abruptly at 1:20 p.m. HST on July 9, 2025, after 9 hours of continuous fountaining, the final 8 of which were high fountaining.
Volcano Watch: What fans the flames observed at volcanic vents?
Recently, something has been observed “dancing” above the active eruptive vents inside Halemaʻumaʻu…Hydrogen flames!
Episode 24 of Kīlauea eruption generates 16,500-foot plume, 980-foot lava fountains
Episode 24 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at Kīlauea began just before 9 p.m. last night, and featured lava fountaining from the north vent reaching 980 feet. Scientists with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory say the fountain generated a plume that reached 16,500 feet above ground level. The episode ended abruptly at 4:28 a.m. today.
Lava fountains reach 500 feet in latest episode of Kīlauea eruption
Episode 21 of the ongoing Kīlauea eruption at Halemaʻumaʻu ended shortly after 8:30 on Sunday night, after about eight hours of sustained fountaining which began at 12:45 p.m. on May 11, 2025. The Halema’uma’u eruption is currently paused.
Episode 20 of Kīlauea eruption is short-lived with 4.5 hours of sustained fountaining
Episode 20 of the eruption at Kīlauea ended at 9:58 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, after 4.5 hours of sustained fountaining. The Halema’uma’u eruption is currently paused.
Episode 19 of the Kīlauea Volcano eruption ends after 8 hours of activity
The main fountaining of Episode 19 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at Kīlauea has ended after just 8 hours of activity.
Update: Episode 16 of Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at Kīlauea brings brilliant glow, 200 foot lava fountains
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.
Update: Eruption at Kīlauea enters Episode 7 with 100-foot lava fountains; pauses after 16 hours
Episode 7 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption ended abruptly at 10:47 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025.