On Saturday, January 24th, Kilauea erupted for the 41st time in the current episodic eruption pattern that began in December 2024. Episode 41 was quite an event that led to an evacuation of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and a lot of volcanic debris cleanup.
Due to light winds, volcanic tephra (rocks, Pele’s hair, gas, and ash) drifted towards Hilo. With the typical tradewinds, tephra tends to blow away from populated areas and towards the Kau desert. With Episode 41, tephra was falling at viewing areas within the national park and in nearby towns. For safety, the park was evacuated. This episode is over and the park has reopened, though with clean up to do.
I watched this episode via the USGS webcams and was amazed at how much tephra was falling near the cameras. I’ve noticed some tephra in the past, but not to this level. It literally looked like it was raining rocks.
For some excellent video footage and recaps, I recommend these videos:
- Big Island Video News: Eruption Update: Falling Volcanic Rock Closes National Park
- KHON2: Fantastic fountains, cautionary closures: Episode 41 recap
- Link to USGS time lapse video of Episode 41
USGS estimates that the next episode could happen in the next two to three weeks. Let’s hope for more favorable winds with the next episodes.
Did you observe any of Episode 41?
Sheila Beal
