Hawaiian Volcano Update: Pre-Episode 36, Patterns of Episodes 1-35 of Kīlauea Summit Eruption - October 30, 2025

This past week on Kīlauea was highlighted by roughly alternating glow from the north and south vents, reflecting gas pistoning cycles with their conduits that is also evident on seismic tremor, all in the 12 days of the current pause following episode 35 of the ongoing summit eruption. Based on the inflation rate at the volcano’s summit, the USGS-HVO suggests an episode 36 is likely between November 5 to 10. The vents continue passively venting gas, typically 1,200 to 1,500 tonnes per day in the periods between vigorous fountains. As with every summit eruption in the last 5 years, vog and tephra are currently the most common hazards for island residents and visitors. The usual precautions and preparations apply, especially for those with respiratory sensitivities – more information at https://vog.ivhhn.org/.

All eruptive activity has been confined to Kīlauea’s summit caldera within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, with no increased lava threat to people. There continue to be no significant changes on either of Kīlauea’s rift zones. Maunaloa continues to inflate its established post-eruption pattern, including a very slight uptick in earthquakes in recent months. 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. 

In a special segment this week in the middle of this lengthy pause, in our second attempt given technical difficulties earlier in the month, we review patterns of episodes 1 to 35 through time-lapse videos and data spanning the whole eruption. We divide the episodes into 4 groups: episodes 1-4 with the opening burst flooding the crater and an evolution to two main vents, episodes 5-17 where a repeating pattern is established and maximum fountain heights grow to reach over 1000 feet, episodes 18-28 after a reset and recovery of the pattern building to high fountains for a second time, and episodes 29-35+ with increasing changes at the vents while maintaining high eruption rates and building to a high fountain for the third time.

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