(BIVN) – Episode 56 in the ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea volcano began just after noon on Thursday.
After days of low-level precursory lava activity, the high lava fountains erupted at 12:10 p.m. on November 5th.
In a 12:29 p.m. Volcanic Activity Notice issued by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, scientists reported lava fountain heights were relatively low at about 100 feet (30 meters), “but will likely increase.” About 20 minutes later, the fountains had grown to 330 feet (100 meters).
UPDATE – (1:50 p.m.) – At 1:23 p.m., the Observatory reported fountain heights were reaching up to about 500 feet (150 meters). A few minutes before, scientists reported the eruptive plume height had reached about 15,000 ft (4,500 m) above sea level.
“Gusty north northeast winds are blowing the plume and tephra into the closed area of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park,” the Observatory noted. “Tephra can be seen falling on the V3 camera site in the video stream.”
“Ground-level sensors near the eruptive vents indicate that winds are blowing from the northeast direction, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed to the southwest direction from Halemaʻumaʻu,” the Observatory stated.
It remains to be seen how high the fountains will reach, or how long the episode will continue. Most lava fountaining episodes since December 23, 2024, have continued for a day or less.
