Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Summit Eruption Paused or Ended - January 9, 2025

Over 12 days between December 23, 2024 and January 3, 2025, Kīlauea erupted at its summit within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, with lava confined to the caldera also known as Kaluapele. The eruption has consisted of 3 episodes, with the first lasting 14 hours and flooding the crater floor, the second lasting 15 hours (after a 16 hour pause to overcome lava drainback into the vent, presumably), and the third lasting 8 and a half days (after a second pause of 21 hours). The current pause in activity is in its sixth day, prompting questions of whether the eruption will resume or if it might be over.

Magma continues to feed the volcano underground at varying rates, evidenced by continuing inflation of the summit shown on tiltmeters. Earthquakes remain low, with the biggest impact to people being the widespread vog since Saturday due to Kona winds; recent rainfall and returning trade winds may clear the air in coming days.

In a special segment this week, we interview USGS-HVO Geologist Katie Mulliken for a summary of the eruption and the volcano’s current status. We also review viewer footage of this visually captivating eruption, as well as start to dig at some of the details of recent activity.

Maunaloa continues to inflate quietly its established post-eruption pattern, with nothing new to report. As usual, we summarize the monitoring signals, imagery, and reports available courtesy of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, annotating the presentation on screen as we go and discussing live viewer questions.