Updated at 11:16 a.m. Aug. 25.
Episode 54 of the ongoing Kīlauea eruption on Hawai‘i Island began at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 25.
Lava fountaining is contained to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. North vent fountains are currently about 50-75 feet high and are expected to grow rapidly to about 500 feet in the next 1-2 hours, according to the latest report from Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Ground-level sensors near the eruptive vents indicate that winds are blowing from the northeast direction, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed to the southwest direction from Halemaʻumaʻu.
Fountaining is expected to produce moderate amounts of tephra, or volcanic debris. Most large tephra will fall close to the vents, but fine ash and Peleʻs hair could be distributed to Pāhala and other communities in Kaʻū.
Signs of the episodic eruption at Kīlauea began just two weeks after the volcano erupted for nearly 10 hours.
Precursory low-level eruptive activity before episode 54 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park began around 6:16 a.m. on Aug. 25, with overflows from the north vent that are continuing at this time, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
With the heightened activity, the Alert Level for Kīlauea was raised from ADVISORY to WATCH and the Aviation Color Code from YELLOW to ORANGE.
This morning’s activity was preceded by the onset of weak spattering from the north vent around 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 24. Spattering and glow were visible from the vents on the U.S. Geological Survey live cam in the early morning hours.
This was marked by the onset of strong, rhythmic gas pistoning spikes in tremor recorded every 5-10 minutes.
This activity comes after Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park announced that some areas have reopened after they were closed due to damage following Hurricane Lala on Aug. 15. Areas reopened as of Aug. 24 included Crater Rim Drive West from the park entrance to Uēkahuna, along with the Welcome Center and Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association store, according to a news release from Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.
Popular overlooks like Kīlauea Overlook and Kūkamāhuākea (Steam Vents) are also open.
Kīlauea last erupted on Aug. 12 at around 3:45 p.m. and ended abruptly early the next morning at 1:23 a.m.
Kīlauea has been erupting periodically since Dec. 23, 2024. The episodes, confined to the Halema‘uma‘u crater, typically last several hours and abruptly end.
