Hawaiian Volcano Update: Episode 44 Begins, Kīlauea Summit Eruption - April 9, 2026
After a nearly 30-day pause, it’s longest so far, Kīlauea’s summit eruption resumed today with episode 44 fountaining marked at 11:10 AM, and still ongoing at the time of our broadcast, just ahead of an expected storm and during the 63rd annual Merrie Monarch Festival. High fountains peaked around 800 feet or 240 meters around 1pm, with only the north vent active despite more than 50 overflows from the south vent over the past 6 days. According to National Weather Service, the eruption plume reached 15,000 feet or 4,500 meters above ground level, which combined with winds from the south has dropped football-sized tephra across a narrow area from within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park focused around Kīlauea Military Camp, as well as in the neighboring Volcano Golf Course subdivision and at Volcano House. Tephra fall is greatest within 3 miles or 5 km of the vents, with finer ashfall including Pele’s hair reported all the way at the coast in East Hawaiʻi.
The nearby tephra fallout prompted a “WARNING” alert level for the volcano paired with a “RED” aviation color code from the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and an ashfall warning from the NWS. This prompted the closure of Highway 11 in the Volcano area and consequently also the closure of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and the local school. During the fountaining phase, gas emissions can rise over 100,000 tonnes of SO2 released in a single day, adding to the tephra as the most significant community impact of this ongoing episodic eruption. Especially at these times, the usual precautions and preparations apply, especially for those with respiratory sensitivities – more information at https://vog.ivhhn.org/.
While this week marks the anniversary of the 1868 Maunaloa eruption on its Southwest rift, we will postpone continued coverage of this event until next week, considering Kīlauea’s present activity. As usual, we summarize the monitoring signals, imagery, and reports available courtesy of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory as well as our broader community, annotating the presentation on-screen as we go and discussing live viewer questions.
