(BIVN) – The ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is currently paused, with the next episode of high lava fountaining possible sometime around the Thanksgiving holiday. 

Scientists with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory say a preliminary forecast window for Episode 37 suggests the event could occur between November 22nd to November 29th. 

“This forecast is likely to change in the coming days as more data becomes available,” the USGS HVO wrote in a Thursday update. 

Lava fountains from the previous episode, Episode 36, reached heights of about 1,200 feet and covered about 80 percent of the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The high fountains lasted for about five hours on November 9th, and were preceded by several days of low-level, precursory lava activity.

USGS webcam image of the Kīlauea summit vent on Thursday

From the USGS HVO summit observations posted in the Thursday update: 

Glow was observed from both vents overnight. The glow varied from weak to strong, with the south vent glow generally stronger. Only a few spots of incandesence were visible around the vents and the small avalanches of incandescent material appear to have stopped.

The UWD tiltmeter has since recorded about 9.3 microradians of inflationary tilt since the end of episode 37. Tremor spikes continue every 5-10 minutes apart and appear to be related to gas pistoning deeper in the vents.

Plumes of gas from both the south and north vents are visible this morning and sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas emissions remain at background levels, typically between 1,200 and 1,500 tonnes per day. Moderate trade winds are present at the summit of Kīlauea this morning and are blowing from the northeast to the southwest.

The USGS Volcano Alert Level fir Kīlauea remains at WATCH.