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Episode 40 of the ongoing eruption of Kilauea

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-18 False Color RGB images, from 1631-2316 UTC on 12 January [click to play MP4 animation]

A combination of 10-minute Full Disk scan and 5-minute PACUS Sector GOES-18 (GOES-West) False Color RGB images from the NOAA/CIMSS Volcanic Cloud Monitoring site (above) showed the signature of a volcanic cloud following the eruption of Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawai`i — which became apparent after 1831 UTC on 12 January 2026, and soon thereafter began moving south-southeast. (This was Episode 40 of the ongoing Kilauea eruption; Episode 1 began on 23 December 2024.) Since this False Color RGB product uses the ABI 8.5 µm spectral band (which is sensitive to SO2 absorption) in its green component, shades of cyan were indicative of a high concentration of SO2 within the volcanic cloud.

A plot of rawinsonde data from Hilo (below) indicated that NW winds were present between the altitudes of 2.2-4.4 km (the summit of Kilauea is at an elevation of 1.25 km), which were responsible for the south-southeast transport the volcanic cloud. According to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the volcanic plume rose to altitudes of 4 km over the eruption site, before moving southeast at higher altitudes.

Plot of rawinsonde data from Hilo, Hawaii at 0000 UTC on 13 January [click to enlarge]

GOES-18 True Color RGB images from the CSPP GeoSphere site (below) provided a view of the volcanic cloud that initially developed at 1816 UTC and later moved south-southeast of the Big Island. In addition, an overshooting top was frequently seen directly over the eruption site. A larger-scale animation that extends to sunset is available here.

5-minute GOES-18 True Color RGB images, from 1726-2351 UTC on 12 January [click to play MP4 animation]

GOES-18 Shortwave Infrared images (below) displayed the thermal signature of lava fountaining and lava flows during Kilauea’s eruption (which was briefly masked by clouds at times).

5-minute GOES-18 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) images, from 1721 UTC on 12 January to 0416 UTC on 13 January [click to play MP4 animation]

As early as 1836 UTC on 12 January (14 minutes after eruption onset), the thermal signature exhibited a 3.9 µm brightness temperature of 137.88ºC (below) — which is the saturation temperature of GOES-18 ABI Band 7 detectors. This saturation temperature was intermittently seen until the eruption episode ended at 0404 UTC on 13 January.

Cursor sample of the maximum GOES-18 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) brightness temperature over the Kilauea eruption site at 1836 UTC on 12 January [click to enlarge]

Categories: GOES-18, Red-Green-Blue (RGB) images, Volcanic activity