UPDATE: 8 p.m.

Episode 15 of the ongoing Halemaumau eruption ended at 7:10 p.m. today when fountaining at the south vent stopped.

North vent fountains had ceased activity around noon. Overall, episode 15 lasted just over 31 hours with the last 9 hours consisting of high fountains predominantly from the south vent.

Initial activity from episode 15 included cycles of gas pistoning for roughly 24 hours, followed by fountains from both vents. The transition to high fountains began just after 10 a.m. today, with early fountain heights growing rapidly in the first 30 minutes to greater than 600 feet high. Later fountaining reached maximum heights over 1,000 feet.

During episode 15, lava flows covered about 80% to 90% of the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu within the southern part of the Kilauea caldera. Weak winds also resulted in deposition of Pele’s hair and tephra in public areas of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and in populated areas near Kilauea summit.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE

Fountaining in Halemaumau Crater is reaching over 600 feet this morning after “episode 15” transitioned from cyclic lava spatter and flows to lava fountaining.

The tallest fountains from the south vent “exceeded 600-700 feet high,” according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, with north vent fountains less than half as high.

EARLIER

It’s on again.

Scientists at Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said “episode 15” of the ongoing eruption commenced at 12:04 p.m. Tuesday “with the onset of vigorous overflows from the north vent,” along with “continuing cycles of lava rise, fountaining and vigorous overflows, and drainback events.”

Prior to “episode 15,” scientists said there were eight cyclic, small spatter fountains in the north vent that began at about 9:27 a.m.

A ninth cycle occurred from 12:05 to 12:19 p.m., producing vigorous overflows extending 150 to 300 feet into Halemaumau Crater.

These continued to increase in intensity, producing fountains up to 30 to 50 feet high from the north vent. Then around noon, the south vent also became active, and also began feeding a lava flow onto the crater floor.

As of about 2 p.m., flows from both vents covered about 5% of the Halemaʻumaʻu Crater floor. High fountaining had not yet begun, but was expected to follow the cyclic fountains and drainbacks as it did during episode 14.

In the 14th episode, lava fountains reached more than 600 feet high at the summit caldera of Kilauea.

The current on-again, off-again eruption began Dec. 23 with each episode lasting for between 13 hours to 8 days, separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting from less than 24 hours to 12 days, according to HVO.

All episodes have been confined to Halemaumau Crater within Kaluapele, the summit caldera, of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

No significant changes have been noted along Kilauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

The Kilauea volcano alert level remains at watch, and the aviation color code remains at orange.

A livestream of the Kilauea summit is available at this link Opens in a new tab.

Hazards from the eruption include vog, or volcanic smog, downwind of Kilauea, Pele’s hair and other volcanic fragments from lava fountains.

Pele’s hair are thin, golden-brown strands of volcanic glass formed during eruptions when molten lava stretches and cools quickly, according to HVO, and the tiny fibers can get lodged in skin and eyes.

Vog information is available at vog.ivhhn.org Opens in a new tab.