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Daily updates about ongoing eruptions, recent images and videos of summit and East Rift Zone volcanic activity, maps, and data about recent earthquakes in Hawaii are posted on the HVO website. 

Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and colleagues.

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USGS HVO Volcanic Activity Notice — Kilauea ORANGE/WATCH status change to RED/WARNING.Kīlauea is erupting. Eruption has commenced within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in Kīlauea’s summit caldera.

USGS HVO Volcanic Activity Notice — Kilauea ORANGE/WATCH status change to RED/WARNING.Kīlauea is erupting. Eruption has commenced within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in Kīlauea’s summit caldera.

HVO Kilauea RED/WARNING - ORANGE/WATCH status change to RED/WARNING.Kīlauea is erupting. Eruption has commenced within Halemaʻumaʻu crater in Kīlauea...

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Volcano Watch — Observations and impacts of the 2017–2018 Ambae, Vanuatu eruption

Volcano Watch — Observations and impacts of the 2017–2018 Ambae, Vanuatu eruption

The Pacific is home to dozens of active volcanic systems including the massive Hawaiian shield volcanoes Kīlauea and Mauna Loa. Most basaltic shield...

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Volcano Watch — How does HVO determine which regions are most threatened by lava flows?

Volcano Watch — How does HVO determine which regions are most threatened by lava flows?

Most residents of the Island of Hawaiʻi live on one of four potentially active volcanoes and probably have wondered about the threat of lava flows at...

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Volcano Watch — The MILEAGE project - Mapping Kīlauea’s Gas Emissions

Volcano Watch — The MILEAGE project - Mapping Kīlauea’s Gas Emissions

Large quantities of volcanic gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), are released into the atmosphere...

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Volcano Watch — Eruption? Intrusion? What’s the difference?

Volcano Watch — Eruption? Intrusion? What’s the difference?

We know that when a volcano erupts, molten red rock makes it to the surface, while during an intrusion it doesn’t. The difference between the two...

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Volcano Watch — New Kīlauea Summit Intrusion Draws Comparison to Past Activity

Volcano Watch — New Kīlauea Summit Intrusion Draws Comparison to Past Activity

Late Monday afternoon, earthquake activity picked up at Kīlauea’s summit.  At about 1:30 a.m. HST on Tuesday, that activity intensified, and it became...

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USGS HVO Volcanic Activity Notice — Kīlauea ORANGE/WATCH status change to YELLOW/ADVISORY

USGS HVO Volcanic Activity Notice — Kīlauea ORANGE/WATCH status change to YELLOW/ADVISORY

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is lowering the Volcano Alert Level/Aviation Color Code for Kīlauea from WATCH/ORANGE to...

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USGS HVO Volcanic Activity Notice — Kīlauea YELLOW/ADVISORY status change to ORANGE/WATCH

USGS HVO Volcanic Activity Notice — Kīlauea YELLOW/ADVISORY status change to ORANGE/WATCH

The US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is raising the volcano alert level/aviation color code for Kīlauea from Advisory/Yellow to Watch...

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Volcano Watch — ‘Ailā‘au—the largest subaerial Kīlauea lava flow

Volcano Watch — ‘Ailā‘au—the largest subaerial Kīlauea lava flow

The 2018 lower East Rift Zone and 35-year-long Puʻuʻōʻō eruptions of Kīlauea had large impacts on the Puna District. Many residents were deeply...

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Volcano Watch — 1790 was a bad year at Kīlauea

Volcano Watch — 1790 was a bad year at Kīlauea

More people were probably killed by the 1790 eruption of Kīlauea than by any other eruption in what is now the United States. Several hundred men...

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Volcano Watch — A spaceborne sentinel keeps watch over Hawaiian volcanoes

Volcano Watch — A spaceborne sentinel keeps watch over Hawaiian volcanoes

Geologists at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) had their mobile phones buzzing this past week with automated alert messages, notifying them...

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Volcano Watch — Under the radar: Using weather stations to study Kīlauea’s December 20, 2020, plume

Volcano Watch — Under the radar: Using weather stations to study Kīlauea’s December 20, 2020, plume

This week marks the second anniversary of the appearance of water in Kīlauea’s Halema‘uma‘u crater, so it seems timely to discuss the water lake’s...

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