Episode 17 lava covered nearly half the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu before it ending Wednesday

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has not reported significant changes following the latest episode of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption, which ended Wednesday morning.

Episode 17 of the eruption featured lava fountains reaching 50 to 200 feet from the south vent and lasted 35.5 hours. The north vent activity ceased Tuesday morning, and the north vent pond collapsed Tuesday night.

Lava flows covered more than 40% of the Halemaʻumaʻu floor within the southern part of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera). Additional details about the eruption were posted earlier in the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory April 8 status report, the April 8 daily update for Kīlauea, and the April 9 daily update for Kīlauea.

Deflationary tilt reached 10.5 microradians during this phase of eruptive activity before switching back to inflationary tilt as lava fountaining ceased, a typical occurrence throughout this eruption.

Each episode of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since Dec. 23, 2024, has continued for at least 13 hours and up to eight days, with episodes separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting less than 24 hours to 12 days. A timeline of eruption episodes since Dec. 23, 2024, can be found on the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website.

No changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to monitor Kīlauea closely.

Two Kīlauea summit livestream videos are available from the west Halemaʻumaʻu crater v1cam and east Halemaʻumaʻu crater v2cam.

Kīlauea’s Volcano Alert Level remains at Watch and its Aviation Color Code at Orange. All eruptive activity remains confined within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

More information is available regarding the potential side effects to vog and Pele’s hair.