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Kīlauea volcanic activity in Hawaiʻi

Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-09-19 10:48 UTC → 2026-09-20 22:55 UTC · added removed

Since December 2024, the Kīlauea volcano has experienced significant activity, characterized by lava fountaining episodes at the Halemaʻumaʻu summit crater. This activity has drawn large crowds to the area, including visitors interested in the historical landscape and geological features of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. By mid-September 2026, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported that the volcano’s eruptive patterns have become increasingly irregular. Previously, the summit followed a predictable cycle of ground inflation, brief fountaining, and deflation. However, the opening of new vents in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater between September 14 and 16 has disrupted these cycles. Recent observations show unsteady reinflation and varying periods As of deflation, which complicates existing forecasting models. September 18, 2026, the Volcano Alert Level remains at WATCH. The opening of a sixth vent on the crater floor has coincided with irregular patterns of summit currently maintains elevated pressurization deflation and ongoing earthquake activity. Scientists are monitoring for potential inflation. The USGS reports that the summit area is highly pressurized, making it difficult to use traditional inflation models to predict future lava flows from new vents, a return fountain episodes, as recent data shows unsteady behavior including periods of deflation during pauses between episodes. While earthquake activity has risen slightly around the summit, there is currently no anomalous seismic activity in the East or Southwest Rift zones to fountaining suggest activity is moving away from the main vent complex, summit area. Scientists continue to monitor data to determine if fountaining has ended or the migration of magma into if the Southwest or East Rift Zones. new vents will remain active.

Versions

  1. 2026-09-20 22:55 UTC Kīlauea volcanic activity in Hawaiʻi
  2. 2026-09-19 10:48 UTC Kīlauea volcanic activity in Hawaiʻi

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