Kilauea Episode 57 Lava Fountaining Forecast for November 17-22 as Summit Reinflates
The U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in its November 14 update that Kilauea's summit eruption remains paused after episode 56, the summit is reinflating, and the forecast window for episode 57 lava fountaining is November 17-22, with the volcano alert level at ADVISORY and the aviation color code at YELLOW.
Episode 56 fountained on November 5 between 12:10 p.m. and 6:01 p.m. from the north vent only, with maximum fountain heights of about 660 feet (200 meters) and an eruptive plume that rose as high as 18,000 feet (5,500 meters) above sea level. The observatory estimates about 8 million cubic yards (6 million cubic meters) of lava erupted, at an average rate of 260 cubic yards per second.
During the pause, summit inflation has been nearly continuous: by the morning of November 14 the Uekahuna tiltmeter had recovered about 11.9 microradians of inflationary tilt since episode 56 ended, a large share of the 17 microradians of deflation recorded during the fountaining. A helicopter overflight on November 10 saw a roiling lava surface in both vents about 130 to 165 feet (40 to 50 meters) deep, and the summit sulfur dioxide emission rate averaged about 3,000 tonnes per day on November 13, with trade winds carrying volcanic gases to the southwest.
The summit eruption has proceeded episodically inside Halema'uma'u crater since December 23, 2024, with fountaining episodes generally lasting less than 12 hours and separated by pauses of two or more weeks. The observatory notes that activity remains inside a closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but volcanic gas, tephra and lava flows remain the primary hazards, and it stays in contact with the park and Hawaii County Civil Defense on eruptive hazards.
(Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
Source: U.S. Geological Survey
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图片来源：美国地质调查局，2026年11月13日夏威夷火山观测站地质学家在基拉韦厄山顶新火山碎屑锥上测量高程变化（N. Deligne 摄，公共领域） | Image: U.S. Geological Survey, a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist surveying elevation across the new pu'u at Kilauea's summit, November 13, 2026, photo by N. Deligne, public domain
