Newest Volcano Notice Including Kilauea

Overview:

Summit tilt and tremor began dropping slowly at about 5:00 p.m. HST coincident with the opening of vent 6. However, by 8:30 p.m. HST all of the new vents had stagnated as slow deflation of the summit continued. Glow continued from the north, south, and west vents throughout the night, but was obscured by heavy rainfall in the early morning. The small summit deflation continues but has slowed this morning. Tremor bursts began reappearing at about 9 p.m. HST last night and continue to be the dominant seismic signal. No anomalous seismic activity or deformation has occurred outside of the summit region.

No significant activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. However, tiltmeters on the East Rift Zone did show typical rainfall excursions early this morning. These changes are not related to magma movement.

A detailed summary of the new eruptive activity in Halema'uma'u can be found here: USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-09-16T18:27:10+00:00

STATUS REPORT on changes in activity and implications for this eruption: USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-09-15T03:18:09+00:00

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

Summit Observations:

Summit tilt and tremor began dropping around 5 p.m. HST yesterday just as vent 6 opened up north of the other vents.  Shortly after, eruptive activity began to diminish on the new vents and was completely stagnated at all six vents by 8:30 p.m. HST. There were short-lived, small flows from several of the vents during the night as the vents depressurized. 

Glow continued all night from the north-south-west vent complex along with flames at times. The vents were obscured by heavy rain and clouds in the early morning hours but no obvious changes in the intensity of glow from the vents could be detected. Spattering stopped at the north vent around 7 p.m. HST and about two hours later at the south and west vents.

Tremor began decreasing around 5 p.m. and by 9 p.m. HST was transitioning from continuous tremor to intermittent tremor bursts. Tremor bursts became dominant after 10 p.m. HST and strengthened until about 1:30 a.m. HST. Strong bursts continue this morning and are the dominant seismic signal across the summit. There were twelve earthquakes located across the summit region. Ten of these occurred within the last 8 hours, but do not form clusters in time or location.

The summit underwent a small deflation last night of about 2 microradians measured on the UWD tiltmeter. Slow deflation continues this morning but appears to be leveling off. The amount of deflation is similar to the deflationary "steps" recorded earlier in this repose period and in the periods leading up to episodes 51-54. The total inflation since the end of episode 54 is currently 14 microradians, over a microradian more than was lost during episode 54 fountaining.

During inter-episode pauses, the sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emission rate from the summit typically varies between 1,000 and 5,000 tonnes per day. Moderate to strong trade winds (10 miles per hour, 5 meters per second or more) are pushing the degassing plume to the southwest of Kīlauea's summit caldera this morning and are expected to continue.  Models indicate that gases as well as fine ash and Pele's hair would be transported to the south of Kaluapele if fountaining starts today with an episode 55.

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. No significant ground deformation was recorded in either rift zone, however, tiltmeters on the East Rift Zone did show typical, minor rainfall excursions early this morning. These changes are not related to magma movement.

Analysis:

The main north, south, and west vents continued to glow last night, indicating magma remains close to the surface in these vents. Current deflation is similar to the deflationary steps seen previously during the current repose period after the episode 54 fountaining. Even with the small deflation last night, pressure remains high within the system. Forecast windows for this episode can no longer be modeled due to the irregular changes in inflation and deflation. Current conditions remain favorable for either another fountaining episode or change in eruptive activity if inflation returns. Possibilities are outlined in the September 15 Status Report.

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 of two or more 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 54:

A detailed account of episode 54 is given in the HVO Status Report issued on August 25: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hans-public/notice/DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-08-26T05:56:38+00:00

• Episode 54 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began around 10:30 a.m. HST and ended at 7:33 p.m. HST on August 25, 2026, after 9 hours of continuous lava fountaining. 
• The maximum lava fountain height from the north vent was approximately 500 feet (150 meters) above ground level, reached between 12:15 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. HST. Neither the south vent nor the new west vent (formerly the collapse pit) fountained during this episode.
• The maximum plume height was approximately 17,000 feet (5,200 meters) above sea level.
• Most tephra fall was restricted to the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, southwest of the active eruptive vents in Halemaʻumaʻu. However, HVO did also receive a report of trace Pele’s hair falling in the Ka‘ū district of the Island of Hawaiʻi.

Resources:

NOTE: HVO’s monitoring network is mostly recovered from recent power- and storm-related outages. Several summit stations will remain offline as we continue working to repair instruments and re-establish connections in our monitoring network.

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.