(BIVN) – The next episode of lava fountaining at Kīlauea volcano appears imminent. 

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory issued a Volcanic Activity Notice (VAN) on Saturday morning, reporting that precursory, low-level activity for Episode 27 began at around 7:27 a.m. HST on June 28. 

“Sustained lava fountaining is likely to begin on June 29 or 30 (tomorrow or Monday) based on the current rate of summit inflation, but could begin sooner if precursory activity escalates,” the USGS VAN stated. “According to the National Weather Service, winds are forecast to blow from the north-northeast to east directions within that timeframe.” 

USGS: “A USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter monitoring overflight of the summit of Kīlauea provided aerial overview of the lava flows and tephra that have been emplaced over the 26 lava fountaining episodes since December 23, 2024. The very bottom of the photo shows the dark black lava flows that were erupted during the September 2023 eruption.” (USGS photo by D. Downs)

From the USGS VAN:

In recent episodes of the ongoing eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu, low-level precursory activity has lasted from a few hours to a few days. This activity can include spatter from the north and/or south vents, small dome fountains, and lava overflowing from one or both vents.

At the start of previous episodes, precursory activity has rapidly escalated into sustained high fountaining over minutes to tens of minutes. During previous episodes, fountains reached heights of more than 1,000 feet (305 meters) and the eruptive plume reached heights of up to 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) above ground level soon after sustained fountaining began.

The tiltmeter at Uēkahuna (UWD) has recorded 15.5 microradians of inflationary tilt since the end of the last episode, during which it recorded 18.5 microradians of deflationary tilt. Low level seismic tremor continues beneath Halemaʻumaʻu crater.

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.

USGS: “This map shows thickness values for lava flows within Halema‘uma‘u crater from the Kīlauea summit eruption that began on December 23, 2024. These values were calculated by topographic differencing between a digital elevation model collected on June 10, 2025—after eruptive episode 24—and one from before the eruption began. The maximum thickness is within the spatter cone at the north vent, standing 103 m (338 ft) above the pre-eruption surface. Also included here are west-to-east profiles across the summit caldera, depicting topographic changes since 2018. Profiles are provided for the periods before the 2018 caldera collapse, shortly after the 2018 collapse, following each of the five summit eruptions from 2020–2023, and for this eruption following the end of episode 24. Also shown is the maximum depth of the 2019–2020 Halema‘uma‘u water lake. Previous versions of this profile view indicated the final fill depth of the 2023 eruptions as 1348 ft (411 m) above sea level; however, the volume-averaged surface elevation for these eruptions has been recalculated using a method more consistent with the other eruptions, yielding a new value of 1312 ft (400 m).”

Scientists noted that no changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. All current is occurring within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

The Kīlauea Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code remain at WATCH/ORANGE. Another VAN will be issued when sustained lava fountaining begins.