Kilauea Lava Fountains Are Soaring as High as 1100 Feet as the Volcano’s 36th Eruption Episode Begins

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is on a roll. The active volcano recently had its 36th episode of eruption, and it was quite magnificent. The blazing streams of lava exploded out of the vents for five hours straight, according to the United States Geological Survey. The lava fountains reached up to a height of about 1,000 feet in the air. The lava spewed so much for such a long duration that 80% of the floor of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater got covered in magma, as per the USGS. A closed area of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park was able to contain the hot magma spews. Scientists predict that the next eruption episode will occur after more than a week. 

The remarkable event took place on the morning of Sunday, November 9, and lit up Hawaii's Big Island, captivating both scientists and residents. The volcano erupted primarily from two vents in the crater: the north and the south. The episodic eruption began in December last year, producing never-before-seen and magnificent lava fountains. The 1983–86 episodic fountains at the beginning of the Puʻuʻōʻō eruption were the last time the volcano in Hawaii erupted. The 35th eruption episode took place on the night of October 17, 2025. At that time, Kilauea produced a single lava fountain that was recorded as one of the highest and powerful lava fountains in the history of volcanic eruptions. 

The south vent produced a fountain till 1,500 feet high, and that from the north vent was 1,100 feet high. According to the agency, that episode of eruption also released 13 million cubic yards of lava. The combined average revealed that  500 cubic yards of lava were erupted every second. During every eruption cycle, each spilage lasted less than a day and produced lava bursts in massive volumes. After the completion of each episode, a gap of several days has been observed. The recent episode also created a rare phenomenon called "volnado," which refers to a tornado-like vortex formed in the sky but with volcanic dust. The anomaly is created when hot air emerging from the volcano spins the volcanic particles.  

As the speed increases and the rotation aligns, a vortex of dust is formed in the sky. People living near and far flocked to witness the eruption and the "volnado" spin and shared the visual treat on social media. "I am honored to have captured this tornado at the 36th eruption episode of Kilauea. As we were walking up to the viewing area, we could see the tornado off in the distance," an internet user wrote. These "volnados" are harmless to the environment, but there are hazards that the lava spillage and ash may cause. High levels of volcanic gas, ash, pumice, scoria, and reticulite are some of the hazardous substances released from the volcano. 

Strands of volcanic glass, also known as Pele's hair, are extremely harmful to the environment as well. These "hot glassy volcanic fragments (tephra), including volcanic ash, pumice, scoria, and reticulite, can fall on the ground within 1–3 miles (1–5 kilometers) of the eruptive vent," as per the USGS.  It can cause minor skin and eye irritation and also contaminate drinking water. The agency revealed that particles of these harmful fragments have fallen on Highway 11, west of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

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