Hawaii Volcano Sends 20,000 Foot Ash Plume Into Sky During Nine Hour Lava Eruption

Episode 47 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at the summit of Kīlauea ended abruptly at 12:27 a.m. HST on May 15. The eruption is currently paused.

Lava fountaining from the north vent began at 3:27 p.m. HST on May 14 and continued for nine straight hours before suddenly stopping shortly after midnight.

The final moments of the eruption were marked by strong gas jetting and large flames rising from both eruptive vents, which continued even after the lava activity stopped.

The south vent did not produce lava fountains during this episode, but periodic spattering was observed during the early hours of activity from the north vent.

Heavy heat and ash from the north vent fed a towering plume that reached approximately 20,000 feet above sea level, according to radar data from the National Weather Service and the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory stated that the instantaneous effusion rate peaked between 360 and 390 cubic yards per second around 5 p.m. HST. The average effusion rate for the entire episode was 270 cubic yards per second.

Officials estimated that 6.8 million cubic yards of lava erupted during episode 47, covering about 30 to 40 percent of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor. The Uēkahuna tiltmeter recorded around 15.6 microradians of deflationary tilt during the event.