USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-01-25T04:52:10+00:00

Activity Summary: 

Episode 41 lava fountaining from the north vent stopped at approximately 7:26 p.m. HST on January 24. The south vent dropped rapidly, then jetted back up for 30 seconds just prior to the eruption ceasing at 7:29 p.m. HST January 24. Episode 41 ended after 8 hours and 18 minutes with both the north and south vents active for most of the eruption. Tephra fall may continue for several hours as ash settles out of the atmosphere. The highest peak or instantaneous effusion rate of 1050 cubic yards (800 cubic meters) per second occurred just after 12:30 p.m. HST on January 24. Episode 41 ended with an average effusion rate of 470 cubic yards per second (360 cubic meters per second). An estimated 14 million cubic yards (11 million cubic meters) of lava erupted and covered about 80-85% of Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor. The Uēkahuna tiltmeter (UWD) recorded about 31 microradians of deflationary tilt during episode 41. As of 8:10 p.m. HST, UWD has already recorded about 0.6 micrometers of inflation since the end of episode 41.

Episode 41 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began around 11:10 a.m. HST on January 24, 2026, marked by a sharp increase in tremor and deflationary tilt at UWD. North and south vent fountain heights peaked just after 12:30 p.m., with maximum fountain heights estimated around 460 to 480 m (1500 to 1575 feet). Widespread tephra fall has been reported in the National Park and surrounding areas including communities to the north of the National Park with fine ash reported falling as far away as Hilo and coast areas of Puna. Fountains from both vents remained relatively close in size during the eruption but began slowly declining after 1:00 p.m. HST.

Episode 41 was preceded by precursory overflows that began from the north vent on January 22 at 10:42 p.m. HST. There were about 8 other small overflows accompanied by spattering from the north vent until a few hours later on January 23 at 12:25 a.m., when the UWD tiltmeter recorded sharp deflation with the start of a small seismic swarm. Spattering from the north vent continued, but at a reduced rate. Additional seismic swarms continued throughout the day of January 23 but diminished in intensity over time. The UWD tiltmeter resumed recording inflation on January 23 at about 11:00 a.m. HST. UWD tiltmeter continued to record inflation throughout the day and following night and soon reached 18.5 microradians of inflation since the end of episode 40: the amount that deflated during episode 40 on January 12. Weak micro-seismicity persisted much of this time. The north vent began erupting continuously this morning January 24 at 3:52 a.m. Intermittent, gas piston overflows began from the south vent at 4:11 a.m. HST and grew in vigor and effusion rate throughout the morning. After approximately 15 overflows, the south vent joined the north vent in erupting continuously at 10:07 a.m. HST. Tremor started to slowly increased and UWD tilt began to decrease shortly after this. 

The following links provide more information about the current eruption:

More information about seismic swarms: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-01-23T03:39:44+00:00

Short messages tracking the evolution of the fountains and eruptive activity can be found here: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/observatory-messages

Three Kīlauea summit livestream videos that show eruptive lava fountains are available here: https://www.youtube.com/@usgs/streams

Previous daily updates, status reports, and information statements can be found here.  Be sure to enter the date range and the volcano you are interested in: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/search/

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

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

 Most episodes of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since December 23, 2024, have continued for around a day or less and have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting generally at least several days. 

• Timeline of eruptive episodes since December 23, 2024: https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/science/eruption-information.

No changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. 

Kīlauea Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code remain at WATCH/ORANGE. All current and recent activity is within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.