(BIVN) – The following is a transcript of the above featured video:
This is Big Island Video News for Monday, June 1st, 2026. Today, high lava fountains mark the start of Kīlauea’s historic episode 48 eruption, plus a downwind ashfall advisory is issued for East Hawaii… Also, an emerging El Niño pattern in the Pacific… with a change in plans for ocean voyagers.
KILAUEA ERUPTION
Episode 48 of the ongoing Kilauea summit eruption officially began at 4:40 a.m. Monday morning, after days of precursory lava activity. Fountains from the north vent peaked at heights of over 650 feet, or 200 meters. The (Hawaiian Volcano) Observatory says the episode will likely continue for several more hours.
All lava activity is confined to the summit caldera within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and the Volcano Alert Level is at WATCH.
ASHFALL ADVISORY
The National Weather Service issued an Ashfall Advisory for East Hawaiʻi in effect until noon on Monday. The volcanic plume from this morning’s eruption was at one point reaching an altitude of 24,000 feet above sea level, meeting upper-level winds from the south.
As of 9 in the morning, light to moderate tephra-fall has been reported at some public overlooks within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, as well as on Highway 11, and in Volcano village and surrounding subdivisions. A Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense radio message advised residents to take necessary precautions, such as wearing masks, closing windows, and disconnecting residential water catchment systems.
RECORD EPISODE
This morning’s activity means Kīlauea has officially broken the record for the most fountain episodes during an eruption at the volcano. The record was previously tied at 47 episodes, shared with the initial phase of the Puʻuʻōʻō eruption, achieved over the course of three years, between 1983 and 1986. The present day eruption cycle at Kīlauea, which began in December 2024, is moving much faster, with shorter pauses between events. Scientists say the overall volume of lava per episode has been lower, allowing the magma system to recharge rapidly.
Episode 38 will most likely be finished before nightfall.
EL NIÑO
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued its 2026 Dry Season Outlook, detailing an 80% chance of a strong El Niño pattern emerging by early summer. According to the NOAA Climate Prediction Center, there is a greater than 90% chance that these El Niño conditions will persist straight through the winter months, as well as a greater than 60% chance it will be a strong pattern. For the Hawaiian islands, these conditions typically coincide with above-normal summertime precipitation and a notable uptick in tropical cyclone activity across the Pacific basin.
VOYAGERS PLAN
“That is the normal average temperature of that zone.” – Nainoa Thompson, Navigator and PVS CEO
Hawaiʻi’s wayfinders are already heeding the signs. The Polynesian Voyaging Society on Sunday announced that the Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia voyaging canoes will be making changes to the ongoing Pacific voyage.“Just to let everybody know our sale plan is going to be adjusted to what nature allows us to do. The long-term probability forecast is that this El Niño is not going to be moderate. It’s either going to be strong or very strong. Having said all of that, uh we are not leaving in May to go to Tonga. We’re looking at the third week in August to go from Aotearoa (New Zealand) to Tonga to the Samoas and the Samoas down to the Fiji and being there around the middle – in Fiji, in the of October to participate in the pre-COP on oceans protections. And so at that point in time, we’ll decide what’s our next step.” – Nainoa Thompson
