Towering lava fountains were recorded on USGS webcams at 8 a.m. HST

(BIVN) – After an entire day of low level, cyclic eruptive activity, Episode 14 of the ongoing Kīlauea eruption began a phase of sustained fountaining and vigorous lava flows at 6:30 a.m. Thursday morning.

All activity remains confined to the summit caldera within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, and the USGS Volcano Alert Level is at WATCH.

The increased activity follows a day-long period of cyclic, low lava fountaining and drainback events. For much of the day, a lava pond in the north cone continually fed a small lava flow within Halemaʻumaʻu, while the south vent was only intermittently active. 

USGS: “At the summit of Kīlauea on March 19, 2025, cycles of filling and draining at the northern eruptive vent within Halemaʻumaʻu crater included periods of more intense spattering in the lava pond.” (USGS photo by M. Patrick)

As of Thursday morning, fountain heights from the north and south vents are reaching heights of up to 600 feet, and lava flows have covered about half the crater floor. 

UPDATE – (8:25 a.m.) – From the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory update on Thursday morning:

Summit Observations:

Small, degassed lava flows began erupting continuously from both vents within Halemaʻumaʻu crater beginning at 9:26 a.m. HST from the north vent and 9:50 a.m. HST from the south vent on March 19. The occasional spatter bursts in both cones slowly waned throughout the morning after 7:00 a.m. HST, but activity in both cones picked back up around 9:20 a.m. HST just prior to the start of continuous eruption. The south vent flows became sporadic around 10:35 a.m. HST. Cyclic low dome fountains alternated with short drainbacks in the north vent every 5-10 minutes with the interval decreasing over time. Maximum dome fountains were 30 feet high (10 meters) and occurred within a 200 foot by 150 foot (65 by 45 meters) lava pond that drops about 5-10 feet (2-3 meters) during each drainback event within the north cone. The size of the dome fountains increased significantly around 2:00 a.m. HST March 20th with fountain heights reaching 50-100 feet (15-30 m). At 6:30 a.m. the south vent started to fountain continuously and was joined by the north vent at 6:50 a.m. HST. By 7:15 a.m. HST fountains reached heights of 400-600 feet (120-180 meters) and lava was covering more than half of Halema’uma’u crater floor.

Prior to start of continuous eruptions, episode 14 was preceded by seven small, short-lived, sluggish lava flows that began overflowing the south vent just before midnight. The first flow was active from 23:58 p.m. HST March 18 to 00:02 a.m. HST March 19 and the second from 00:56 to 1:03 a.m. HST. These were followed by a third tongue of lava from the south vent from 1:57 to 2:01 a.m. HST and a fourth from 3:36 to 3:46 a.m. HST. The fifth and sixth sluggish lobes erupted from 4:20 a.m. to 4:28 a.m. HST and 5:04 to 5:14 a.m. HST. A seventh short-lived flow erupted from the south vent between 6:02 a.m. and 6:10 a.m. HST March 19. This flow was accompanied by large spatter bursts from the south vent that could be seen over the top of the north cone on the V1 camera. None of the seven flows lasted more than 10 minutes nor went more than about 50 feet (15 meters) from the south vent. Occasional spatter bursts could be seen in the north vent on the V1 camera throughout the night and becoming more frequent in the early morning hours.

The rate of summit inflationary tilt slowed over past 24 hour until the onset of high fountaining after 6:30 a.m. HST. Inflationary tilt recovered 12 microradians since the end of the last episode. Seismic tremor rapidly increased at 6:30 a.m. HST and tilt at UWD switched from inflation to deflation at about 6:52 a.m. HST, when sustained fountaining of the north vent joined with the south vent.

An SO2 emission rate of 1,200 t/d was measured on March 18, which is a typical rate for eruption pauses. Emissions of SO2 during the current high fountains will be in the 20,000 to 50,000 tonnes per day range based on past measurements. The fountains are also currently producing tephra such as pumice and Pele’s hair that can be transported long distances downwind from the vents.

UPDATE – (8:30 a.m.) – High fountains from the south vent reached up 700 feet at 7:46 a.m. HST when the north vent quit fountaining. These are some of the highest fountain heights yet recorded during this ongoing eruption.

USGS webcam