Hawai'i Volcano Blog

Explore Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park this February through a variety of free events and guided programs that showcase its unique natural and cultural resources.

Ongoing swarms of earthquakes and persistent volcanic tremors indicate active magmatic movement, fueling anticipation about Kīlauea’s next eruption.

It is yet to be determined if temblor swarms following Episode 40 of the Big Island volcano’s ongoing episodic eruption that began Dec. 23, 2024, will impact lava fountaining activity at the surface.

After nearly 10 hours, Episode 40 of the Halemaʻumaʻu eruption comes to a sudden end.

Nearly continuous overflows of the north vent overnight coupled with overflows from the north and south vents this morning within Halemaʻumaʻu Crater inside the Big Island volcano’s summit caldera suggest the onset of Episode 40 is close.

While the mid-20th century episodic eruption and current ongoing eruption within the summit caldera of Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island share similarities, there also are several differences.

The scheduled operations including projects for invasive species control, aerial mapping of vegetation, seed collection and more; the park “regrets” any noise impact to residents and visitors.

Since Dec. 23, 2024, the north and south vents within Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, inside Kaluapele, the summit caldera, have erupted in 39 lava fountaining episodes.

Often spotted by onlookers in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, or even by YouTube livestream viewers, the long, ashy gray or brown, ropy cloud-like structures tend to appear near or downwind of active lava fountains.

On the one-year anniversary of Kīlauea’s rare episodic eruption, viewers watching the live feed at the summit were shocked to see two men walk in front of the camera that is in a restricted area.

The most recent eruptive event at the summit of the Big Island lasted about 8.1 hours less than the first episode that started the eruption a year ago on Dec. 23, 2024, but produced higher fountains and more lava output.

The rare ongoing eruption within Halema’uma’u Crater inside the summit caldera of the Big Island volcano began Dec. 23, 2024, with Episode 39 expected any day now.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park rangers want visitors to have a safe and memorable adventure this holiday season. Safety is their top priority, but it is your responsibility.

Visitors to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island, where the volcano is located, see remarkable views during the episodic eruptions within the summit, but the latest episode — No. 38 — reminds us how quickly hazards associated with this dynamic activity can change.

Join Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff and its partners Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense in January 2026 for a series of programs around the island that will discuss eruptions and earthquakes, how Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists monitor them and the hazards associated with them.

At 10 a.m., livestream cameras from the U.S. Geological Survey showed smoke billowing out of the Halema‘uma‘u Crater.

The latest episode in the series that began nearly a year ago on Dec. 23, 2024, ended abruptly at 8:52 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 6), after a little more than 12 hours, when the south vent — which exploded earlier during the day and featured sustained fountaining as high as 1,200 feet at one point — ceased activity.

National Weather Service radar observations show the volcanic plume rises to 13,000 feet above mean sea level, with light ashfall drifting southwestward within 5 miles away from the volcano.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has been busy tracking the continued growth of this young geologic feature, which is visible from public viewing areas around the summit within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

The 1975 Kalapana earthquake has ultimately changed the understanding of Kīlauea’s south flank, and the hazards associated with its movement.