Kilauea erupts again, rare volcanic whirlwind hits summit cameras
A rare volnado slammed a USGS summit camera as Kīlauea’s Episode 49 sent 700-foot fountains and ash over Halemaumau.
A volcanic whirlwind slammed a U.S. Geological Survey camera at Kīlauea’s summit, hurling tephra, dust and ash into the lens as Episode 49 surged from Halemaumau. The rare “volnado” was captured on webcam and video as lava fountaining continued inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where changing winds can quickly turn an eruption into a visitor-area hazard.
Episode 49 began with precursory activity at 4:10 a.m. HST on June 14, then shifted to sustained lava fountaining from the north vent at 9:36 a.m. HST. The episode lasted about 7.5 hours and ended abruptly at 5:05 p.m. HST, after the north-vent fountain reached a maximum height of about 210 meters, or 688 feet. Earlier USGS messages put the fountains near 700 feet and the plume at roughly 17,000 feet above sea level as it drifted mostly to the southwest over Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The eruption pause that followed left Kīlauea not erupting on June 16, but the summit remained active and monitored. USGS said inflation at the summit pointed to another episode likely between June 24 and June 29, with June 25 and June 26 considered the most likely window. For residents and visitors, that means the current break is only a pause in a long-running eruptive cycle, not a shutdown.
Park officials have warned that light or southerly winds during fountaining can push tephra and volcanic gas into visitor areas, and those conditions can force temporary closures. On June 16, parkwide sulfur dioxide air quality was listed in the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” range, underscoring that the main risk is not just the sight of lava but the air people breathe around the summit.
Episode 49 also stands out because it followed Episode 48 on June 1, when Kīlauea set a new fountaining record. The latest burst added another chapter to the ongoing Halemaumau summit eruption, with lava covering about 30% to 40% of the crater floor and cameras once again documenting how fast the volcano can shift from spectacular to hazardous.
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