USGS HVO Updates VONA Format, Explains Kīlauea Aviation Alerts
HVO announced a formatting change to VONA; Kīlauea remained Aviation Color Code ORANGE in notices 2026/H38, 2026/H83 and 2026/H84.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory announced a change to the format of its Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation (VONA), a move Big Island Video News said was explained in an HVO Volcano Watch summary on March 7, 2026. The change comes while HVO continues to issue VONAs for Kīlauea that list the Current Color Code as ORANGE and Previous Color Code as ORANGE, including notices 2026/H38, 2026/H83 and 2026/H84.
The three VONA excerpts provided carry the header, VOLCANO OBSERVATORY NOTICE FOR AVIATION (VONA), and identify Kilauea, VNUM #332010, at Volcano Location: N 19 deg 25 min W 155 deg 17 min, Area: Hawaii, Summit Elevation: 4091 ft (1247 m). The issued timestamps in the notice headers are (20260125/0532Z) for Notice 2026/H38, (20260216/0115Z) for Notice 2026/H83 and (20260216/0944Z) for Notice 2026/H84. HVO delivers VONAs through the Hazard Notification System (HANS) for Volcanoes.
HVO’s operational picture on Feb. 27 remained cautious. The HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY DAILY UPDATE, issued Friday, February 27, 2026, 9:03 AM HST (19:03 UTC), states, “The Halemaʻumaʻu eruption of Kīlauea is paused.” The update records that “Episode 42 ended February 15 at 11:38 p.m. HST” and that “Preliminary models suggest the likely forecast window for the onset of episode 43 lava fountaining is March 6-16.” Summit observations in the Feb. 27 update read, “Little-to-no glow could be seen from the vents last night. This morning, both vents remain quiet and emitting steady gas plumes,” and note that “Low seismic tremor continues at the summit, punctuated by more energetic bursts every 5-10 minutes.”
Seismic and deformation metrics accompany the operational notes. HVO reports “two earthquakes less than M1.0 located in the summit region in the past 24 hours.” The UWD tiltmeter data are given precisely: “The UWD tiltmeter has recorded recovery of nearly 17.6 microradians of inflationary tilt since the end of episode 42, with about 0.2 microradians of net deflation over the past 24 hours.”
The available VONA headers and the Feb. 27 daily update provide the technical identifiers aviators and local operators use: exact notice numbers, VNUM #332010, coordinates N 19 deg 25 min W 155 deg 17 min, and Summit Elevation: 4091 ft (1247 m). HVO lists askHVO@usgs.gov for contact on monitoring and notices. With Episode 43’s likely window of March 6-16, HVO will continue to publish VONAs via HANS and issue daily updates that include seismic counts, tilt measurements and vent observations that inform aviation color coding and operational planning.
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