(BIVN) – Episode 55 in the ongoing Kīlauea summit eruption began at 3:19 a.m. HST on Saturday, October 17th.
High lava fountains continue within Halemaʻumaʻu crater as of 8 a.m., although a maximum fountain height of 720 feet (220 meters) was already reached three hours earlier. The fountain is being erupted from the north vent. All lava is confined to the summit crater within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
The episode 55 lava fountain reached a higher height than the maximum fountain heights for episodes 51-54, scientists say, which were around 500 feet high (150 meters).
In a 5:22 a.m. Volcanic Activity Notice, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported the plume from the eruption was reaching about 25,000 feet above sea level.
“Winds are blowing from the north-northeast direction, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed to the south-southwest direction from Halemaʻumaʻu,” the Observatory stated. “Current radar images show significant tephra within the plume up to only 8,000 above sea level. The National Weather Service reports winds above 20,000 feet coming from the west.”
Since the 5:22 a.m. Volcanic Activity Notice, the north vent fountain has dropped to about 500 feet (150 m) high, and the top of the plume cloud has dropped under 13,000 ft (4,000 m) above sea level.
The USGS Volcano Alert level for Kīlauea remains at WATCH and the Aviation Color Code is at ORANGE.
