(BIVN) – Lava flows began erupting from the north vent within Halemaʻumaʻu overnight, as the ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea restarted around 10:10 p.m. HST on September 22.
The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory issued a Volcanic Activity Notice (VAN), saying it is unclear if this activity will lead to a lava fountaining episode.
The USGS Volcano Alert Level for Kīlauea remains at WATCH and the Aviation Color Code is ORANGE.
From the Observatory VAN:
Precursory low-level activity for episode 55 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at the summit of Kīlauea restarted around 10:10 p.m. HST on September 22 with a vigorous lava flow from the north vent that lasted for 24 minutes. The initial overflow was followed by a second that started at 23:44 p.m. HST. The previous overflows from the north-south-west vent complex ended just before noon on September 12 after 5 days of eruptions. These were followed by the opening of vents 1 though 6 on September 14 along the northwest wall of Halemaʻumaʻu crater that last for two days.d It is presently unclear if this activity will lead to the onset of a lava fountaining episode at this time.
The Observatory says this low-level precursory activity can continue for hours to days before the lava fountaining episode begins.
