Mauna Loa erupting

[dobanion]

It’s happening. Check your webcams. So far, it’s all in the summit crater.

[taropatch]

Yup!  11:30pm Sunday night.  The glow is visible up yonder.  So far its contained in the caldera.

[Durian Fiend]

Ash fall warning for the entire island. Check your flight status if traveling today.

[dobanion]

One pic on Twitter shows what looks like a flow leaving the crater, heading (best I can guess from angle) to Captain Cook area. Hawaii Civil Defense website crashed, USGS is your best bet for accurate info, but they haven't said much, yet.

I stayed up and kept hitting refresh on the summit cam, and boy oh boy did it fill up fast. Chain of fire from one end of the crater to the other.

Update as of 6:00am: Can't see the chain of fire in the crater anymore. Gone. I can see something in the webcam for the middle zone, looks like a chain of fire outside the crater toward the south. Upper rift zone cam is all black, I think socked in the clouds.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

[b]Monday, November 28, 2022, 2:43 AM HST (Monday, November 28, 2022, 12:43 UTC)[/b]

[b]MAUNA LOA[/b] (VNUM #332020)
19°28'30" N 155°36'29" W, Summit Elevation 13681 ft (4170 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WARNING
Current Aviation Color Code: RED

The eruption continues at the summit of Mauna Loa. All vents remain restricted to the summit area. However, lava flows in the summit region are visible from Kona. There is currently no indication of any migration of the eruption into a rift zone.
The Volcano Alert Level and Aviation Color Code for Mauna Loa remains at WARNING/RED.  


 https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/mauna-loa...no-updates

[dobanion]

I see a chain of fire outside the crater here:

https://www.usgs.gov/media/webcams/m3cam...-rift-zone

I don't see anymore in the crater itself:

https://www.usgs.gov/media/webcams/mlcam...thwest-rim

I attached a screenshot I took this morning at 1am HST of the crater for comparison.

Latest from USGS, looks like I'm wrong (surprise). It moved to the NE rift zone.

The eruption of Mauna Loa has migrated from the summit to the Northeast Rift Zone where fissures are feeding several lava flows. HVO staff on an overflight at approximately 6:30 a.m. HST confirmed fissures at high elevations within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park are feeding lava flows upslope of the Mauna Loa Weather Observatory. Lava flows are not threatening any downslope communities and all indications are that the eruption will remain in the Northeast Rift Zone. Volcanic gas and possibly fine ash and Pele's Hair may be carried downwind.

[terracore]

UPDATE

Issued: Monday, November 28, 2022, 7:20 AM HST
Source: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Notice Number: 2022/H603
Location: N 19 deg 28 min W 155 deg 36 min
Elevation: 13681 ft (4170 m)
Area: Hawaii

Volcanic Activity Summary:
The eruption of Mauna Loa has migrated from the summit to the Northeast Rift Zone where fissures are feeding several lava flows. HVO staff on an overflight at approximately 6:30 a.m. HST confirmed fissures at high elevations within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park are feeding lava flows upslope of the Mauna Loa Weather Observatory. Lava flows are not threatening any downslope communities and all indications are that the eruption will remain in the Northeast Rift Zone. Volcanic gas and possibly fine ash and Pele's Hair may be carried downwind.

NE Rift zone.... Hilo?

[ironyak]

Yep - Hilo side (but can be seen from Waikoloa as well)

FYI - USGS Volcanoes on Twitter is very quick on the updates, often includes available images and videos with their posts, and will answer questions. Great source for keeping up to date.

Civil Patrol morning overflight: https://twitter.com/USGSVolcanoes/status...3794928640
View from Waikoloa: https://twitter.com/USGSVolcanoes/status...0578879489

[dobanion]

Download steepest line of descent lines and import into google earth:
https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item...4b2d130eb5

This worked very well in 2018 and accurately predicted the lava flows.

Based on the reports of "above the observatory" for the vents it looks like the flows have a good chance of destroying the NOAA observatory before moving toward the highway in the direction of Waikaloa. It would take quite a while, weeks to months of non-stop activity, but it could happen.

[ironyak]

Based on the reports of "above the observatory" for the vents it looks like the flows have a good chance of destroying the NOAA observatory before moving toward the highway in the direction of Waikaloa.

Ah, but NOAA/MLO prepared for this possibility.

https://www.google.com/maps/@19.5343615,...a=!3m1!1e3
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr82314

Until the flow is mapped better, it's unclear if their diversion barriers will be put to the test, but one branch of the flow does looks to be heading more straight towards Saddle while the other looks more pointed to the NE (Saddle road/Hilo).

Edit: USGS saying NOAA/MLO not under thread at this time, but the access road is (so the flow is more to the NE apparently).
https://twitter.com/USGSVolcanoes/status...1412169729

Useful map of historical Mauna Loa flows to see how they interact with the broad slopes towards Hilo or pool along Saddle.
https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/map-sh...lava-flows