The Hawaiian volcano Mauna Loa continues to erupt. Lava is now starting to flow out of one side of the volcano.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports, “The Northeast Rift Zone eruption of Mauna Loa continues, with several fissures and lava flows active. Several lava flows are traveling in a northeast direction. The longest and largest lava flow is issuing from Fissure 3. This lava flow crossed the Mauna Loa Weather Observatory Road and the flow front is located approximately 4.5 miles from Saddle Road.”
The lava expulsions are now 130 feet to 160 feet high.
Here is an image from a live webcam looking at the erupting northeast part of the volcano. Note that Hawai’s time is five hours behind Michigan. At 8:00 p.m. in Michigan it is 3:00 p.m. in Hawaii. So you can see daylight images of the volcano this evening at this link to the live webcam. Of course the images of volcanic eruptions look great at night too.
Webcam image looking at the northeast part of Mauna Loa, which is the erupting part. (source:USGS)
The USGS also reports there is no active lava within Moku’āweoweo caldera, which is the center crater in the volcano. There is no lava erupting from the Southwest Rift Zone. Currently the USGS does not expect any eruptive activity outside the Northeast Rift Zone. No property is currently at risk. There is a visible gas plume from the erupting fissure fountains and lava flows, with the plume primarily being blown to the North. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission rates are approximately 250,000 tonnes per day.
