Episode 41 eruption at Kīlauea produces 480 m (1 575 feet) fountains, tephra reaches Hilo and Puna, Hawaii

Episode 41 began after several hours of increasing overflow from the north and south vents inside Halemaʻumaʻu crater. Lava fountains rose rapidly to about 460–480 m (1 500–1 575 feet) just after 12:30 HST, generating a dense eruption column and widespread tephra fall across Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

By early afternoon, large volcanic clasts, some up to 30 cm (1 foot) in diameter, were falling along Highway 11 and in public viewing areas near Volcano Village.

Finer ash and Pele’s hair were transported downwind to communities including Hilo and coastal Puna, more than 40 km (25 miles) from the vent. Weak surface winds combined with stronger upper-level easterlies dispersed material over a broad area, producing notable tephra deposition across eastern Hawaiʻi Island.

“Tephra has been reported in communities including Volcano Village, Mauna Loa Estates, Ohia Estates, Mountain View, Fern Acres, Kurtistown, Ainaloa Estates, Hilo, Hawaiian Paradise Parks, Hawaiian Beaches, and Pahoa,” the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) noted in a bulletin released at 16:40 HST (02:40 UTC on January 25).

At that time, fountain heights had decreased to about 200 m (650 feet), and the Uēkahuna tiltmeter recorded 22.5 microradians of deflation since eruption onset.

“Tephra fall in more distant communities (Mountain View, Fern Acres, Kurtistown, Ainaloa Estates, Hilo, Hawaiian Paradise Parks, Hawaiian Beaches, and Pahoa) is fine-grained ash and Pele’s hair, and is expected to continue as the plume continues to disperse downwind in a general easterly direction. Falling tephra can pose a health hazard and may contaminate catchment water supplies.”

The eruption ended abruptly around 19:29 HST (05:29 UTC on January 25), after about 8 hours and 20 minutes. Fountaining stopped almost simultaneously at both vents, and airborne ash gradually settled as the plume dispersed, while ephra deposition remained visible through the night across Volcano Village and the upper Puna District.

All volcanic activity remained confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. No breakouts were detected along the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone, and operations at commercial airports across Hawaii County continued without disruption.

Temporary closures were implemented within the Park and along Highway 11 due to falling tephra and low visibility, and the National Weather Service issued an Ashfall Warning for east and southeast Hawaiʻi Island, later downgraded to an advisory.

Episode 41 showed several distinguishing features compared to earlier summit events. It produced among the highest fountain heights of the current Halemaʻumaʻu sequence, generated a broad tephra field with fine ash reaching as far as Hilo and Puna, and resulted in approximately 22.5 microradians of summit deflation.

Kīlauea’s Alert Level remains at Watch and Aviation Color Code Orange, as of 02:40 UTC today.

Teo Blašković

I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.

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