Kilauea Eruption 12/23/24

[MyManao]

Not much wind so I wonder why this episode is so tephra heavy.

All the higher, vertically oriented, fountains are as 'tephra heavy" but only in certain conditions does it get carried aloft so high as to be transported by the higher winds, above the trades, that blow predominately to the east and thus rain down on Puna as it did today.

Normally, when the trades are dominate, the plume gets bent over and the rock gets carried west. Without the trades the erupting tephra can reach higher, break above the trades, and be transported to the east before falling down again.