Following elevated earthquake activity, Kilauea began erupting at about 2:30 a.m. This new eruption is happening at Halema’uma’u crater, which is located at the summit of Kilauea inside of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It is not posing a danger to any homes or businesses.
From the early images, it appears that a this is a fissure eruption with fountains of lava spewing from the fissure. It’s difficult to discern the actual height and scale of the fountains from a distant view. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) will likely provide an estimate later today. If I had to guess, I would estimate that the fountains you see in the photo above are reaching heights of roughly 30 feet and possible more. (Update: our initial estimates were far off, possibly by a factor of ten as some of the fountains reached heights of over 200 feet .) You can check for Kilauea updates from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
This type of eruption is usually very dramatic, especially in the beginning of the new volcano activity. The following screenshot was taken from the same vantage point roughly 42 minutes from the photo at the top. You can see how much lava covered the crater floor in a short period of time.
Within a few hours of the eruption, the livestream webcam was moved to a different location and wow, oh, wow! What an incredible sight as you can see from the following screenshot!
You can watch the livestream of this eruption on the USGS’ YouTube channel. If at all possible, try to check in on the livestream around dawn and/or dusk when the views are best. Sometimes the livestream gets interrupted and that has happened this morning. When the livestream gets restarted, we believe this will be the link.
Here’s another webcam view of Halema’uma’u. It’s neat to see how the lava is illuminating the crater wall in the middle of the dark night.
What an exciting 24 hours it’s been for Hawaii. Yesterday, Oahu’s North Shore had the monster waves rolling in for The Eddie surfing competition. Now, Kilauea is erupting. Wow!
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December 24, 2024 Update
A huge lava fountain was visible for several hours. The following screenshot was taken at 5:25 p.m. on December 24.
December 25, 2024 Update
The eruption had another continuation and pause with some dramatic fountaining. The following screenshot was taken at 7:20 a.m.
December 27, 2024 Morning/Day Update
The eruption that began early morning on December 23, has had some dramatic lava fountains with pauses in between. As of the morning of December 27, the eruption seems to be a bit on the slow side with some lava oozing onto the crater floor. Some red/orange glow of lava was visible between the cracks on the crater floor in overnight views.
Will the volcano have more dramatic displays in this eruption? On December 26, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory posted “Inflation of the summit following the shutdown indicates that a resumption in activity is possible in the coming days, but not certain.”
December 27, 2024 Evening Update
Lava fountains went back in action from two vents at the crater wall of the northern side of Halema’uma’u. Fountains reached heights of about 45 feet.
December 28, 2024 Morning Update
Early morning livestream video shows fountaining from two vents as well as the glow of lava on the crater floor. (Note that from the livestream video, the fountains are barely visible from the crater wall edge.)
December 28, 2024 Afternoon Update
Fountaining continued through most of the day. As of 5:00 p.m., the fountaining was active. See the following screenshot. The fountaining is slightly visible by the ridge line. Additionally, some lava incandescence is visible on the crater floor.
December 29, 2024 Early Morning Update
Lava continued to fountain more vigorously than most of December 28th. Incandescent lava was visible on the crater floor.
While we appreciate the USGS livestream, the view of the lava vents is mostly blocked. Other angles provide a more direct view. For example, Lance Page has had some livestreams. The following photo is a still shot from one of his livestreams from the morning of December 29, 2024.
One advantage of the USGS livestream is that they are providing continuous coverage and from their view you can get an idea of the realtime activity.
December 29, 2024 Late Morning Update
Vigorous fountaining continues per the USGS livestream.
December 30, 2024 Early Morning Update
Lava fountaining continues.
December 31, 2024 Update
Vigorous fountaining continues much to the delight of visitors.
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Here are some resources to check for the latest activity:
- USGS livestream video
- USGS S2 camera with periodic still shots
- USGS B1 camera with periodic still shots
- Latest volcano updates from the USGS
- Kilauea news
Notes:
- There are much better views of the lava activity that the USGS livestream that we’ve posted above. So, if you do go to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to see the eruption, you might have an opportunity to have a better view.
- Lava activity and fresher lava is best viewed at dusk, dark or dawn.
- Newer lava appears almost like a shiny silver or pewter color in daylight.
Sheila Beal
