Newest Volcano Notice Including Kilauea

Overview:

Lava fountains of episode 48 started at 4:40 a.m. HST from the summit of Kīlauea volcano within Halemaʻumaʻu. Lava fountains have reached a maximum height of almost 650 ft (200 m) at their peak and have slowly been dropping through the episode. This episode is currently ongoing and expected to last for several more hours.

Light to moderate tephra fall has been reported with some public overlooks within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, as well as on Highway 11 near Nāmakanipaio Campground, Volcano village, Mauna Loa Estates, and Ohia Estates.

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

More Detailed Information is available in the following reports issued this morning:

USGS HVO Short Messages issued to website and social media throughout the eruptive activity: 

HVO - Observatory Messages | U.S. Geological Survey

Status Report with details of ash and tephra fall: 

USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-06-01T16:10:56+00:00

Volcano Activity Notice issued when fountains reached their maximum: 

USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-06-01T16:10:56+00:00

Volcano Activity Notice when episode 48 fountains began: 

USGS Volcano Notice - DOI-USGS-HVO-2026-05-31T03:58:43+00:00

NOTE: The National Weather Service has issued an ash advisory for south and east Hawaiʻi.  WWA Summary by Location for 19.41N 155.29W with HIZ052/HIC001/HIZ338 emphasis Ashfall Advisory

NOTE: Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Agency has also released an ALERT notifiying residents to prepare for ash and tephra by closing windows and disconnecting catchment systems where possible. Everbridge - Mass Notification

Summit Observations:

Precursory overflows of degassed lava began from the south vent at 5:41 p.m. HST yesterday May 30 and continued until 4:31 a.m. HST on June 1. There were a total of 95 overflows from the south vent that were generally small and stay within a few hundred meters of the vent, and they averaged 5 minutes in duration and were spaced on average 16 minutes apart. Low dome fountains (5-10 ft or 1-3 m high) fed the passive overflows. The end of events were marked by vigorous drainback of lava and a drop in lava level within the vents. Spattering continued throughout the night building the small cone within the north vent until 3:46 a.m. HST on June 1, at which time the north vent started to overflow. This overflow transitioned in the lava fountaining of episode 48 at 4:40 a.m. HST. The episode 48 lava fountain grew to a maximum height of 650 ft (200 m) over the first hour, and has since slowly become lower.

The plume for episode 48 reached a maximum height of 24,000 ft above sea level (7,300 m above sea level). Ground level winds are from the northeast and dispersing tephra to the southwest. Higher level winds at 10,000 to 20,000 ft above sea level (3,000 to 6,000 m above sea level) are from the south and dispersing tephra to the north and east. Tephra fall has been reported at public overlooks around the summit of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and along Highway 11 near that national park that reaches several inches (several centimeters) in diameter, as well as tephra of 0.1 inches (2 mm) falling in Volcano village, Mauna Loa Estates, and Ohia Estates. Pele's hair has been noted falling at all of these locations as well.

Kīlauea summit inflation abrupted changed to deflation as episode 48 neared and started. As of this posting the summit tiltmeter at Uēkahuna (UWD) has tracked about 12 microradians of deflationary tilt. This instrument recorded 15.6 microradians of deflationary tilt during episode 47.

With the eruption now paused, 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. Measurements on Friday, May 22, indicated emission rates of about 2,000 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:

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

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.