USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-01-12T17:03:19+00:00

Activity Summary:

Episode 40 sustained lava fountaining at the summit of Kīlauea began at 8:22 a.m. HST on January 12. Sustained lava fountains erupting from the north vent are currently reaching heights of more than 660 feet (200 meters) and feeding a lava flow on the crater floor. Intermittent spatter continues from the south vent. Tephra is currently falling on the western and southern rim of Halema'uma'u crater. Volcanic gas emission rates increased significantly with the onset of sustained lava fountaining. The sulfur dioxide emission rate is typically 50,000-100,000 tonnes/day during an eruptive episode. The gas plume is currently rising straight up to heights over 13,000 feet (4,000 m) above ground level. Ground-level sensors near the eruptive vents indicate that winds are light at the summit, less than 5 mph (2 m/s), and variable in direction. This makes it difficult to predict how the eruption plume will spread during this episode, but it will probably remain closer to Halemaʻumaʻu and the summit. Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone and Southwest Rift Zone remain quiet. 

Short messages tracking the evolution of the fountains and eruptive activity can be found here: HVO - Observatory Messages | U.S. Geological Survey. 

Summit Observations:                                                                                                                        

Episode 40 sustained lava fountaining began at 8:22 a.m. HST on January 12 as indicated by strong deflation and increaseed tremor after north vent fountains increased dramatically in height and vigor at 8:13 a.m. Sustained fountaining was preceeded by several days of significant precursory activity that included cyclic spatter and dome fountains from both the north and south vents that fed large lava flows on the crater floor including a flow from the south vent that reached 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) in length.

North vent fountains are currently feeding lava flows on the floor of Halema'uma'u crater. At about 6:30 a.m. this morning, spattering in the north vent increased and began to feed an overflow from the vent. At about 7:00 a.m., the spattering transitioned to a continuous narrow and small fountain, likely caused by a restriction in the vent that resuled in a nozzle-effect that led an arcurate spatter fountain 15-30 feet (5-10 meters) high feeding a flow from the north vent. Sustained fountaining from the north vent began at 8:22 a.m. Fountain heights increased steadily and currently exceed 660 feet (200 meters) in height. Right now, the tephra fall out zone is observed to be on the western and southourn rim of Halema'uma'u crater.

Sustained lava fountains are not yet erupting from the south vent at the time of this update but intermittent lava spattering and small dome fountains continue. The south vent formed dome fountains feeding overflows from the vent at a rate of about one per hour over the past day, with about 30 overflows total feeding lava flows on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. 

UWD returned to inflation after 9 a.m. yesterday morning, with nearly a microradian of inflation since then, returning to 22.8 microradians. The Uēkahuna tiltmeter (UWD) had previously reached 23 microradians of re-inflation of Kīlauea's summit on Saturday January 10. This peak was followed by a brief deflationary period dropping to 22 microradians associated with the onset of precursory overflows from the north and south vents the night January 10.  The SMC tiltmeter mirrors the UWD tiltmeter, but SDH shows continued slight inflation, possibly influenced by the deeper south caldera magma chamber.

Volcanic gas emission rates increased significantly with the onset of sustained lava fountaining. The sulfur dioxide emission rate is typically 50,000-100,000 tonnes/day during an eruptive episode. The gas plume is currently rising straight up to heights over 13,000 feet (4,000 m) above ground level.

Rift Zone Observations:

Rates of seismicity and ground deformation remain very low in the East Rift Zone and Southwest Rift Zone. SO₂ emissions from the East Rift Zone remain below the detection limit.

Analysis:

The rapid rebound of inflationary tilt and presence of low-level volcanic tremor after episode 39 indicate that another lava fountaining episode is likely to occur. Continued overflows from both the north and south vents, as well as a return to summit region inflation over the past 24 hours suggest the onset of episode 40 could be close. Forecast models suggest the window for onset of episode 40 fountaining is now through January 17. Precursory activity could continue through then, with low dome fountains and spattering with the north and south vents feeding lava flows onto Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor. 

Kīlauea has been erupting episodically since December 23, 2024, primarily from two vents (north and south) in Halema‘uma‘u. Eruptive episodes, which generally last for less than 12 hours, are separated by pauses that can be as long as over two weeks.

HVO continues to closely monitor Kīlauea and is in contact with Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park and the Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Agency about eruptive hazards.

Please see the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park website for visitor information: https://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm

Recap of Last Episode:

Episode 39 lava fountaining from the south vent stopped at approximately 2:13 a.m. HST on December 24 after 5.9 hours of sustained fountaining. The two vents within the north cone both stopped slightly earlier at 2:00 a.m. HST. Sustained fountaining began at 8:20 p.m. HST from the north and south vents after just under 2 hours of precursory overflows. Fountains rapidly grew to several hundred feet high and by 9:30 p.m. HST had reach maximum estimated heights of 1,400 feet (425 meters) for the south fountain and 900 feet for the north fountain. The main fountain from the north cone came from the "right hand" vent (as viewed from V1cam, which is pointed south), but a much smaller fountain, 100-200 feet (30–60 meters) high, began at about 8:45 p.m. HST and lasted until the north vent stopped fountaining. This "triple" fountain lasted through most of the eruption, with the south fountain highest followed by the "right hand" north vent (about 65–70% of the south fountain height) and the much smaller "left hand" north vent (about 10–20% of the south fountain height). The highest peak or instantaneous effusion rate of 960 cubic yards per second (800 cubic meters per second) occurred about 9:00 p.m. HST just before the south and north vents reached their maximum heights. Episode 39 ended with an average effusion rate of 250 cubic yards per second (190 cubic meters per second). An estimated 12 million cubic yards (9.3 million cubic meters) of lava erupted and covered about 50–60% of the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The Uēkahuna tiltmeter (UWD) recorded about 26.8 microradians of deflationary tilt during episode 39.

The following links provide more information about the current eruption that began on December 23, 2024:

• Eruption resources, including the most recent map and a timeline of eruption episodes since December 23, 2024: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/science/eruption-information
• Three Kīlauea summit livestream videos that show eruptive lava fountains are available here: https://www.youtube.com/@usgs/streams
• Summit eruption webcams: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/summit-webcams
• Volcano Watch article on gas pistons: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/news/volcano-watch-so-what-earth-or-least-kilauea-a-gas-piston

Hazards:

This episodic eruption is occurring within a closed area of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. 

• Volcanic Gas: high levels of volcanic gas—primarily water vapor (H₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and sulfur dioxide (SO₂)—are continually released during an eruption. Emissions can remain locally hazardous in the areas immediately downwind of the vents, even when the vents are not actively erupting. SO₂ reacts in the atmosphere to create vog (volcanic air polution) downwind. SO₂ and vog may cause respiratory and other problems at high concentrations. Further information on vog can be found at https://vog.ivhhn.org/
• Tephra: small glassy volcanic fragments—volcanic ash, pumice, scoria, and reticulite—are created by the lava fountains. Larger particles fall near the vents while light particles may be wafted greater distances. These particles may be remobilized during windy conditions following recent eruptive episodes. Residents and visitors should minimize exposure to these fragments, which can cause skin and eye irritation. More information is available here: https://vog.ivhhn.org/sites/default/files/PelesHair_FAQs_v2.pdf. Close to the vents, the tephra material on the crater rim is prone to cracking, slumping, and small landslides that sometimes expose hot and molten material within. 
• Lava flows: on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and the southwest side of Kaluapele, Kīlauea's summit caldera, remain hot and may slowly move in the days immediately following an eruptive episode. 

Other significant hazards also remain around Kīlauea caldera from Halemaʻumaʻu crater wall instability, ground cracking, and rockfalls that can be enhanced by earthquakes. This underscores the extremely hazardous nature of Kīlauea's caldera rim surrounding Halemaʻumaʻu crater, an area that has been closed to the public since late 2007.