Volcanic Eruptions

It's looking like it's close to the start of episode 42. There's a strong glow under the fumes streaming from the South and North vents:
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Hmmm, sounds like maybe Kīlauea has other ideas…

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATE
U.S. Geological Survey
Friday, February 13, 2026, 9:04 AM HST (Friday, February 13, 2026, 19:04 UTC)

KILAUEA
(VNUM #332010)
19°25'16" N 155°17'13" W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Activity Summary:
The Halemaʻumaʻu eruption of Kīlauea is paused. Summit inflation continued yesterday until 9:30pm, when weak deflation began. Deflation continues today. Glow at both the south and north vents was visible in the webcams overnight. The forecast for the onset of episode 42 lava fountaining has been adjusted to February 14 through 17, though continued deflation may delay the episode onset further.
 
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While we wait for Kīlaeua to start up again, I'll leave you this timelapse video…
 
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It looks like Kīlauea has started its pistoning pre-eruptive phase. Maybe later today or tomorrow?
 
It looks like the USGS has gotten some complaints about the new V3 camera stutters. They say they'll replace it after Episode 42 is over. Before then, the north and south vents seem to be sharing lava flows between the two.
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HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATE
U.S. Geological Survey
Sunday, February 15, 2026, 9:01 AM HST (Sunday, February 15, 2026, 19:01 UTC)

KILAUEA
(VNUM #332010)
19°25'16" N 155°17'13" W, Summit Elevation 4091 ft (1247 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WATCH
Current Aviation Color Code: ORANGE

Activity Summary:
The Halemaʻumaʻu eruption of Kīlauea is paused. Magma is high within both vents with visible spattering and intermittent small overflows. The forecast for the onset of episode 42 lava fountaining is today February 15 through tomorrow February 16.

No significant activity has been noted along Kīlauea's East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

Note: The V3 camera is experiencing data issues and we have ordered a new camera to replace it following episode 42.

Significant changes in activity between Daily Updates are posted here: HVO - Observatory Messages

Summit Observations:
Both the north and south vents were active in the past 24 hours. Small precursory overflows from the north vent occurred at 1:05-1:06 pm, 4:41-4:50 pm, and 5:56-6:05 pm HST yesterday. The south vent produced two small overflows at 3:51-3:52 am and 4:06-4:08 am HST this morning. Spattering was visible from both vents all night and continues this morning, which indicates that lava is at the surface just below the edges of the vents.

Seismic tremor continued over the past 24 hours and has been relatively steady over the past day. The overflows from the north vent yesterday created slight tremor lulls followed by peaks during drainback. There were 10 small earthquakes located across the summit region during the past day with only one greater than magnitude one.

The Uēkahuna tiltmeter (UWD) recorded steady inflation from 9:30 am HST yesterday until about 4:15 am HST today, and peaked at 31 microradians of inflation. This is equal to the episode 41 deflation. Since 4:15 am HST today, shortly after the south vent overflows, the summit deflated about 0.2 microradians, though that has been mostly recovered at this time. Shorter periods of no inflation also correlated with the north vent overflows yesterday.

In recent days, the sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rate from the summit has varied within the typical range of 1,000 to 5,000 tonnes of SO2 per day, as has been observed during previous eruptive pauses. This is considerably lower than rates observed during lava fountaining episodes. This morning, webcams show that the plume from the summit vents is being carried to the southwest. The National Weather Service forecast for the Kīlauea summit region for today indicates winds from the northeast at 13 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph, and increasing tonight to 18 to 22 mph and gusts to 31 mph.
 

Update: it looks like the fountains have shut down just before sunset.
 
The USGS has been replacing the webcams and the one south of the vents now has audio.
 
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It looks like the USGS has called the start of Episode 44 with the appearance of a steady low fountain of lava in the north vent starting a little after 11 a.m. HST:
Kilauea Message 2026-04-09 11:36:36 HST
Lava fountains at the north vent in Halemaʻumaʻu are currently reaching about 35 meters (115 feet) in height, and they can be expected to reach maximum heights in 1–2 hours.
Kilauea Message 2026-04-09 11:24:37 HST
Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining episode 44 began at 11:10 a.m. HST. Winds are blowing from the south, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and tephra may be distributed to the north.
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Message 2026-04-09 11:24:23 HST
Episode 44 began at approximately 11:10. VAN/VONA has been issued. Lava fountains from the north vent are currently under 300 feet high and growing. Downwind gas emissions and tephra fall are the primary hazards.
Kilauea Message 2026-04-09 08:59:04 HST
Strong dome fountains have begun erupting from the north vent in Halemaʻumaʻu crater, feeding lava flows on the western crater floor.
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Message 2026-04-09 08:56:02 HST
Episode 44 lava fountains likely to begin between now and April 15. Intermittent overflows and dome fountains are now erupting from both north and south vents.​

Looking at the video, though, the low fountaining of lava really began closer to 10:08 HST:
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Camera #2 has a better framing of the action for once.

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