Newest Volcano Notice Including Kilauea

Overview:

The summit eruption of Kīlauea in Halemaʻumaʻu is paused following the end of lava fountaining episode 50 on June 27. Initially, tiltmeters began measuring summit reinflation immediately after the episode ended and glow was visible from both eruptive vents indicating that another lava fountaining episode is likely. However, slow summit deflation began yesterday morning and is continuing, increasing the forecast uncertainty and delaying the onset of the next episode. Current forecast models suggest that lava fountaining episode 51 will occur sometime between July 8 and 15. 

No significant activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

A summary of episode 50 is posted below.

NOTE: Significant changes in activity between Daily Updates are posted here: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/observatory-messages

Summit Observations:

Moderate to bright glow remained visible from the south vent overnight, while flashes of glow and flames were intermittently visible from the north vent. Yesterday, it was noted that a small, localized section of the western Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor close to the vents was actively subsiding. This same area has been observed subsiding after other eruptive episodes and may even be related to a weakness in the older, deeper part of the crater fill. In order to better study the process, the V1cam may be aimed in this direction during daylight hours this week.

Strong tremor bursts continue every 10-20 minutes. No earthquakes were located beneath Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera) in the past day. 

Once episode 50 ended, inflation resumed but it has been replaced by slow deflation over the past two days. Tilt recorded on the UWD tiltmeter has dropped from a maximum of 5.6 microradians on Tuesday to 4.9 microradians today of tilt recovered since episode 50. 

The sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emission rate from the summit is likely now varying within a typical range of 1,000 to 5,000 tonnes per day. 

Rift Zone Observations:

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

Analysis:

The abrupt switch from summit deflation to inflation at the end of episode 50 and continued glow from the eruptive vents indicate that another lava fountaining episode is likely.  However, the summit has been slowly deflating since yesterday morning making it difficult to forecast the onset of the next fountaining episode. Forecasts based on summit inflation are pushed to later dates and have a greater uncertainty due to the ongoing summit deflation. The current forecast suggests that episode 51 will occur sometime between July 8 and 15, but this may change with changing summit inflation.

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

Summary of episode 50:

A detailed account of episode 50 is given in the HVO Status Report issued on June 27: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-06-28T04:29:55+00:00

• Episode 50 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at the summit of Kīlauea ended abruptly at 5:10 p.m. HST on June 27, 2026, after 7 hours of continuous lava fountaining from the north vent. The eruption is currently paused.

• Tephra fall was restricted mostly to the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to the southwest of the active Halemaʻumaʻu vents. A light fall of Peleʻs hair was reported from the town of Pāhala in Kaʻū.

   

Resources:

NOTE: HVO’s monitoring network is mostly recovered from recent power- and storm-related outages. Several summit stations, including the SDH tiltmeter, will remain offline until we are able to re-establish access across the deep tephra field southwest of the caldera.

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
• Short messages tracking the evolution of the lava fountains and eruptive activity can be found here: https://www.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/observatory-messages
• Three Kīlauea summit livestream cameras 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 pollution) 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, Pele’s hair and reticulite—are created by the lava fountains. A combination of fountaining dynamics and wind conditions determines where tephra fall may occur for any given eruption episode. 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, eye, and respiratory irritation. More information and guidance on tephra fall hazards is available at https://seagrant.soest.hawaii.edu/resource-and-guidance-for-volcanic-tephra-fall/
• Lava flows: lava on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and the southwest side of Kaluapele, Kīlauea's summit caldera, remains hot and may slowly move in the days immediately following an eruptive episode.

Other significant hazards exist around Kīlauea caldera from Halemaʻumaʻu crater wall instability, ground cracking, and rockfalls that can be enhanced by earthquakes. Close to the eruptive vents, the tephra material on the crater rim is prone to cracking, slumping, and small landslides that sometimes expose hot and molten material within. 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.