#hawaii volcano eruption

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that the V3 camera for live streaming of eruptive activity at Kīlauea, is now back online after onsite maintenance. Scientists with the HVO say preliminary models suggest the likely forecast window for the onset of episode 43 lava fountaining is March 6-16.

Update: Episode 34 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption ended abruptly at 7:03 a.m. HST on Oct. 1 after just over 6 hours of continuous fountaining.

HVO scientists say it is unclear exactly when sustained eruptive activity may start, however, high lava fountaining is likely to begin today or tomorrow if summit inflation resumes.

The main fountaining of Episode 19 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at Kīlauea has ended after just 8 hours of activity.  

Earthquake and ground deformation rates in Kīlauea’s upper East Rift Zone decreased significantly following a “burst of intense activity” at approximately 3:30 a.m. HST on July 23, 2024. Accordingly, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has lowered the Volcano Alert Level for ground-based hazards from WATCH to ADVISORY and the Aviation Color Code from ORANGE to YELLOW.     

Scientists with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory issued an updated status report on Kīlauea, saying the eruption that began southwest of the summit at approximately 12:30 a.m. HST this morning, June 3, has paused, “however, activity in this region remains dynamic and could change quickly.”

Kīlauea volcano is erupting. At approximately 3:15 p.m. HST on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023, eruptive activity was observed in Kīlauea summit webcam images and from field reports indicating that an eruption has commenced within Halemaʻumaʻu crater, according to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Kīlauea’s alert level was lowered from Warning to Watch amid decreased effusion rates. Kīlauea’s summit eruption is expected to continue and remain confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Kīlauea volcano is erupting. At approximately 4:44 a.m. on June 7, 2023, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected glow in Kīlauea summit webcam images indicating that an eruption has commenced within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in Kīlauea’s summit caldera, within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

The Mauna Loa Forest Reserve will reopen effective immediately, months following the eruption of Mauna Loa.

Visitors continue to flock to Mauna Loa where a fissure is sending a fountain of lava about 130 feet into the air.

Around fissure 3, a cone is developing, measured as approximately 157 high. The HVO reports that the flow front was about 2.5 mi from the Daniel K. Inouye Highway and was advancing at a rate of 40 feet per hour at last report.

“We do not expect upper fissures to reactivate. However, additional fissures could open along the Northeast Rift Zone below the current location, and lava flows can continue to travel downslope,” the HVO advised.

Olivine crystals—the beautiful green mineral common in Hawaiian lavas—record when and where magmas move inside Hawaiian volcanoes before they erupt. We can actually use these little crystals like clocks to better understand the magmatic events leading to the December 2020 and September 2021 summit eruptions at Kīlauea.

Early Saturday morning, the west vent of Kīlauea Volcano on the Big Island reactivated with lava flow while the north vent quieted and started to drain the Halemaʻumaʻu crater lake.

Kīlauea continues to erupt at its summit from two vents on the north and northwest sides of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that as of late Tuesday afternoon, the growing crater lake was 470 feet deep with a surface area of 54 acres.

Health officials say vog conditions and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) air levels may increase and fluctuate in various areas of the state.

Since the onset of the recent eruptive activity in May, there have been dozens of seismic events that have prompted statements from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

For an area that is used to accommodate some 5,000 viewers a day, Ferracane said it has been transformed into what “feels like a ghost town to some degree.” During a recent visit to the Jaggar Museum Overlook, Ferracane said there was a dusting of ash that made the area look like it was “white washed in a coating of flour.”

On Sunday, June 3, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake rattled the summit area at 3:50 p.m., cracking the overlook deck at Jaggar Museum. Over the weekend, the US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported more than 500 earthquakes in a 24-hour period – the most ever measured by HVO scientists.