Kīlauea eruption episode generated 16,500-foot plume, 980-foot lava fountains in less than 8 hours

Episode 24 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption ended abruptly at 4:28 a.m., less than eight hours after it began.

Episode 24 started at 8:55 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4, with low dome fountaining and lava flows onto the crater floor. Small sustained lava fountains, less than about 100 feet high, began erupting from the north vent around 9:15 p.m. Activity increased around 10:10 p.m. when fountain heights reached 325 feet.

By 10:40 p.m., the fountaining reached more than 980 feet. Additionally, the fountain generated a plume that reached 16,500 feet above ground level by 10:50 p.m. and was increasing.

The north vent stopped erupting at approximately 4:08 a.m. this morning, followed by the south vent at around 4:28 a.m., marking the end of the episode. Lava flows from this episode on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu within the southern part of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) may continue to exhibit slow movement or incandescence as they cool and solidify over the coming days.

“The Uēkahuna tiltmeter recorded approximately 13 microradians of deflationary tilt during this episode. The end of the eruption was coincident with a rapid change from deflation to inflation at the summit and a decrease in seismic tremor intensity,” according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory update.

On Tuesday, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory observed sporadic spatter, gas pistoning, and hydrogen flames. The National Weather Service warned of small bursts of volcanic ash erupting up to 18,000 feet at the Halemaʻumaʻu crater.

Most episodes of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since the eruption started on 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: USGS Eruption Information has a timeline of eruptive episodes since Dec. 23, 2024 and three Kīlauea summit livestream videos are available on the USGS YouTube page.

No changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and will issue a volcano activity notice at the start of the next eruptive episode, or if possible, before at the onset of low-level activity. The next regularly scheduled daily update will be posted at the usual time.

The Kīlauea Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code remains at Watch/Orange. All current and recent activity is within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.