Kīlauea Episode 45: Eruption Recap & Timeline

⚠️Alert Level: WATCH|Aviation Code: ORANGE

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Episode 45 Summary

Episode 45 is one of the fountaining episodes of Kīlauea's ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption, which has produced numbered episodes every one to four weeks since December 2024. Our daily archive below doesn't include USGS commentary that names this episode; the daily updates log has the complete day-by-day record.

Episode 45 by the Numbers

Started
April 23, 2026 - 1:34 a.m.
Paused
April 23, 2026 - 10:01 a.m.
Duration
8.5 hours
Max fountain height
≈870 ft (265 m)
Lava volume
5.2M m³
Pause that followed
12 days

How Episode 45 compares

Lava fountains in Episode 45 reached about 870 feet (265 meters), the 21st highest fountain height of 54 recorded episodes and 25% above the median of 700 ft.

The episode erupted an estimated 5.2 million cubic metres of lava, essentially the median (5.2M m³).

Fountaining lasted 8.5 hours, 15% below the median of 10 hours. Kīlauea's episodes are short and intense: most last hours, not days.

The summit then paused for 12 days while magma recharged before the next episode began.

Comparisons computed across the 54 eruptive episodes USGS has recorded for the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption. Figures are USGS preliminary values and can be revised.

How to Monitor Episode 55

Is It Safe to Visit Hawaii During an Eruption Episode?

Always check the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park website and follow guidance from park rangers and USGS HVO before visiting. Conditions can change rapidly. This site is for informational purposes only. Always defer to official park and emergency management sources.

More of the island, live

Eruption email alerts: one email when Kīlauea’s status actually changes, nothing else.

Data sourced from USGS HVO. Not affiliated with USGS.

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