Big Island’s Kīlauea erupting with lava fountains 400 feet tall and getting bigger
Episode 37 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., with sustained lava fountains shooting approximately 400 feet into the air from the north vent of the Big Island volcano.
The fountain heights are increasing rapidly, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Past episodes have produced incandescent lava fountains of more than 1,000 feet high that produce eruptive plumes up to 20,000 feet above ground level.
According to the National Weather Service, winds are light and blowing from the northeast direction, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed towards the southwest, but could spread more widely.
All eruptive activity is confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Commercial airports in Kona and Hilo in Hawaii County will not be affected by this activity.
To view the show, there are three Kīlauea summit livestream videos available here: https://youtube.com/@usgs/streams
KPcam and MKcam provide views of the plume height for aviation purposes
Episode 37 was preceded by small, sporadic spatter fountains and overflows that began at approximately 9:27 a.m. on Nov. 21 and alternated between the north and south vents. There were 76 overflows prior to the onset of continuous overflows on Tuesday.
Most episodes of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since the first one on Dec. 23 almost a year ago have continued for around a day or less and have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting generally at least several days.
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.
More Information:
- Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park visitor information: https://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm
- Kīlauea activity summary also available by phone: (808) 967-8862
- Kīlauea webcam images: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/webcams
- Kīlauea photos/video: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/photo-and-video-chronology
- Kīlauea lava-flow maps: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/maps
- Kīlauea FAQs: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/faqs
- From VNS v3
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