HONOLULU (KHON2) — Lava is once again lighting up the night at Kīlauea Volcano, as the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that Episode 18 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began late Wednesday evening.
The new burst of volcanic activity kicked off at 10:01 p.m. on April 16, with lava starting to overflow from the north vent inside Halemaʻumaʻu crater. The event was preceded by increasing glow and spattering from the south vent around 9:10 p.m., which built up to dome fountains reaching up to 15 feet high by 9:30 p.m. Lava within the vent continued to rise steadily until it formed a visible lava pond by 9:45 p.m.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that seismic tremor began increasing just before the eruption and is still ongoing.
This latest activity follows a pattern of episodic eruptions that began in December. Since Dec. 23, 2024, each episode of lava fountaining at Kīlauea has lasted anywhere from 13 hours to eight days, with pauses in between lasting less than a day to nearly two weeks.
The volcano remains at a WATCH alert level, and the aviation color code is ORANGE, meaning eruption is ongoing with potential for increased activity. For now, all lava flows are confined within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Live views of the eruption can be seen through USGS webcams at both the east and west sides of the crater.
More information and a timeline of the eruption sequence are available at usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea.