27th Lava Fountaining Episode At Kilauea Volcano Has Begun

USGS REPORT Nov 25: Episode 37 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began at 2:30 p.m. HST on November 25. Sustained lava fountains approximately 400 feet (120 meters) in height are currently erupting from the north vent. Fountain heights are increasing rapidly.

Past episodes have produced incandescent lava fountains over 1000 feet (300 meters) high that produce eruptive plumes up to 20,000 feet (6000 meters) 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.

Episode 37 was preceded by small, sporadic spatter fountains and overflows that began at approximately 9:27 a.m. HST on November 21 and alternated between the north and south vents. There were 76 overflows prior to the onset of continuous overflows on November 25 at 14:15 p.m. HST and continued until sustained fountaining began.

Seismic tremor increased significantly, and summit tilt switched from inflation to deflation at about the same time that sustained fountaining began. Inflationary tilt reached approximately 22 microradians since the end of the last episode.

Most episodes of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since December 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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IaMqotNF_s