Latest Kilauea volcano eruption sends lava 500 feet into the air, USGS says

One of the most active volcanoes in the world has erupted again, according to volcanologists.

Episode 52 of the current series of eruptions at Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, located on the Big Island, began Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. local time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Kilauea's north vent spewed lava up to 500 feet into the air, while plume clouds of heat and ash reached heights of 19,000 feet above sea level, some 3.5 miles, scientists said.

The volcano experienced more than seven hours of continuous fountaining, according to the USGS, officially ending at 2:36 a.m. local time Wednesday.

The effusion rate – that is, how quickly the lava flowed from the north vent – peaked at 350 cubic yards per second at about 9:15 p.m. local time Tuesday. An estimated 6.1 million cubic yards of lava erupted, covering up to 50% of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor at Kilauea's summit, according to the USGS.

Lava flows were confined to the Halemaʻumaʻu crater and the southwest side of Kaluapele, Kīlauea's summit caldera in which Halemaʻumaʻu is located, volcanologists said.

During the last four minutes of the eruption, gas and flames were emitted from the north vent, according to the USGS. Although the south vent did not fountain in this episode it did emit flames toward the end of the eruption, the USGS said.

While fine ash was detected within public areas of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, no solid rocks or magma fragments that were ejected during the eruption were reported in any other populated areas.

Kilauea remains at a code yellow, indicating that the volcano is exhibiting signs of elevated unrest at a level greater than known background activity.

The current series of Kilauea eruptions began in December 2024.