Photo and Video Chronology - Kīlauea - May 15, 2018

Ash plume at KILAUA summit nearly continuous this morning...

Activity at Halema‘uma‘u crater increased this morning to include the nearly continuous emission of ash with intermittent stronger pulses that form occasional higher plumes 1-2 kilometers (3,000 to 6,000 feet) above the ground. This photo shows the ash plume at about 9 a.m. HST. Tradewinds this morning are blowing the ash generally to the southwest toward the Ka`u Desert. The dark area to the right of the ash column rising from the Overlook crater is ash falling from the ash cloud to the ground.

Ash plume rises in the distance over a golf course

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Ash plume viewed from the Volcano Golf Course near Volcano, Hawai‘i. This view is nearly due north of the Halema‘uma‘u crater.

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At 11:43 HST, Civil Air Patrol flight CAP20 reported plume tops at about 9,500 ft with the dispersed plume rising as high as 11,000 ft. The CAP mission was launched from Hilo in support of Hawai‘i County Civil Defense and USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory response to the ongoing eruption. Ash from this plume was reported falling on communities downwind. Information on ash hazards and how to prepare can be found here: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanic_ash/

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At 11:05 a.m. HST. Photograph from the Jaggar Museum, Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, captures an ash plume rising from the Overlook crater. Ash falling from the plume can be seen just to the right side (and below) the plume.

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At 1:38 p.m. HST, another dark ash plume rose from the Overlook crater. During a flight earlier today by the Civil Air Patrol, the height of the ash plumes near the crater rose to more than 3 km (9,800 ft) above sea level, and downwind the plumes continued to rise to about 3.5 km (11,500 ft) above sea level.

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At 1:38 p.m. HST, ash falls from the plume southwest from Halema‘uma‘u crater onto the Kau desert. The northeast tradewinds were persistent today at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, so ash was only blown southwest.

At 1:38 p.m. HST. This telephoto image taken from the observatory l...

At 1:38 p.m. HST. A telephoto photo from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory looking toward the southwest shows gray ash blanketing the Kau Desert landscape.

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Incandescence observed at Fissure 14 around 10:30 a.m. HST. Pulsing, gas-rushing sounds could be heard coming from the crack. Yellow sulfur deposits appear on the crack margins.

Lava oozing from edge of a volcanic flow

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Highly viscous (sticky) lava oozes from the edge of the ‘a‘ā flow spreading slowly from fissure 17.