Kilauea Volcano Eruption Sends 20000 Foot Ash Plume Into Hawaii Sky

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 hours before suddenly stopping at 12:27 a.m. HST on May 15.

The final minute of activity was marked by intense gas jetting and large flames rising from both eruptive vents, which continued even after the eruption ended.

The south vent did not produce lava fountains during this episode, but it periodically spattered during the early hours of activity from the north vent.

The north vent lava fountain generated major heat and ash, feeding a plume that reached a maximum height of about 20,000 feet above sea level, based on radar data reported by the National Weather Service and the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center.

According to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the instantaneous effusion rate peaked between 360 and 390 cubic yards per second around 5 p.m. HST. The average effusion rate during the entire event was 270 cubic yards per second.

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