New vents open at Kilauea summit as activity continues

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – New eruptive activity continues at the summit of Kilauea.

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The U.S. Geological Survey said a total of five new vents have now opened on and near the northwest wall of Halemaʻumaʻu crater since Monday night.

The vents are north of the established vent complex and have produced several small lava flows.

As of Wednesday morning, three of the vents were still feeding active pāhoehoe flows on the crater floor.

The first vent opened around 8:36 p.m. Monday and began feeding a lava flow about 20 minutes later.

Additional vents opened Monday night and throughout Tuesday, with the fifth forming around 8:58 p.m. Tuesday.

USGS said that vent produced bursts of flames and spatter overnight, but no lava flow.

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Spattering also continues from the north vent, with occasional bursts from the south and west vents.

Seismic activity has also increased. Tremor at Kīlauea’s summit nearly doubled over the past 24 hours, while 12 earthquakes were recorded beneath the summit area.

USGS said summit inflation remains stalled since the new vents began opening Monday night.

The summit region remains highly pressurized, but officials said it is still unclear what will happen next.

The new vents could continue erupting, or activity could shut down there and return to the established vent complex.

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Kilauea remains at a WATCH alert level with an ORANGE aviation color code.