(BIVN) – Episode 37 in the ongoing Kilauea summit eruption is nearly upon us, as the anticipated window for lava activity is open.
Short bursts of lava spattering were observed at the north vent within Halemaʻumaʻu overnight, and lava overflowed the south vent from 9:27 a.m. to 9:39 a.m. this morning, indicating magma is high in the vent, scientists say.
“The degassed flow was short and sluggish,” the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory noted Friday morning. “Precursory overflows preceded the last several fountaining episodes and more are expected prior to episode 37.”
This week, the USGS HVO stated that models were suggesting the window for the possible start of high lava fountaining would open Friday, November 21st. This morning, in an updated statement, the scientists said “episode 37 will probably occur between November 22 to November 26 with November 23-25 mostly likely.”
“This forecast may change as rates of inflation vary,” the Observatory noted.
Summit tiltmeters recorded 1.2 microradian of inflationary tilt in the past 24 hours, the Observatory says, for a total of 19.8 microradians recorded since the end of episode 36 on November 9.
