February 15, 2026 — North vent channel realignment during episode 42 at Kīlauea summit

On Sunday, February 15, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists monitored episode 42 of the Kīlauea summit eruption from the northwest rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater. Despite driving rains, this location provided good views of the north vent's lava fountains and flows on the crater floor. Around 4:20 p.m. HST in the afternoon, scientists witnessed a dramatic redirection of the vent's main lava channel; earlier, most lava was flowing toward the center of the crater floor, but over the course of a few minutes it shifted into the northwestern section. In this photo captured almost immediately after the redirection began, the new channel alignment is in the early stages of formation, with fast-moving lava flows advancing down the slope from the vent. Subsequent analysis of time-lapse webcam imagery indicated that the shift was caused by slow slumping of the entire flank of the vent complex, resulting in a failure of the original channel levee on the north side. USGS photo by M. Zoeller.