Volcanic alert level raised in Hawaii: Kilauea erupts

ABOVE – Glow of Kilauea volcano, visible from Mauna Kea, HI. Photo credit: USGS

The alert level for Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano was raised Monday morning as a new eruption began at 12:30 a.m. HST (5:30 a.m. EST) Monday morning. According to the United States Geological Society (USGS), the eruption “probably occurred about one mile (1-2 km) south of the Kīlauea caldera and north of the Koa’e fault system and Hilina Pali Road, in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.” It occurred on the “Big Island,” or the island of Hawaii. There is currently no danger to the public as the eruption remains contained to the national park.

There are two types of volcano warnings issued by the USGS, a color scale for aviation accidents and ground hazards ranging from normal activity to warnings. This morning, our ground hazard level was upgraded from a WATCH to a WARNING, which means:According to the USGS, a dangerous eruption is imminent, underway or suspected. The flight color coding, which ranges from green (no threat) to red (threat in progress), was also upgraded from orange to red on Monday morning.

At the moment, the glow of the lava flow is visible via webcam. According to the USGS, “the last eruption in this region occurred in December 1974 and lasted only about 6 hours.” The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) will monitor activity on Kilauea and update alert levels accordingly. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park remains open to the public, but some areas are closed due to volcanic and seismic activity. Most earthquakes were less than magnitude 4.0, but seismic activity is indicative of movement in the lower layers of the Earth’s crust.

Stay with WeatherNation as we monitor volcanic activity in Hawaii!