Explosive Eruption Rocks Kilauea Volcano's Summit

A crater on the summit of Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupted with a powerful explosion early Thursday, hurling boulders and volcanic debris hundreds of feet into the air.

The eruption sent a massive plume of ash into the sky that reached 30,000 feet or five miles high. An eruption the night before caused a smaller explosion.

U.S. Geological Survey scientists had been warning residents about an explosive display as unpredictable fissures spewing lava, poisonous gases and hundreds of earthquakes have plagued the Big Island and devastated homes for the last two weeks.

They expect similar eruptions to occur in the near future, said Steve Brantley, deputy scientist-in-charge for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

We think that the explosions are on par with the activity that weve seen in 1924, Brantley said, referencing a steam-driven eruption in Kilaueas Halemaumau Crater that lasted for 30 minutes in May 1924 . The most recent explosions only lasted a few minutes long, Brantley said, adding, We expect to see more of that type of explosion.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey had already evacuated the volcano observatory near the crater, but cameras at the summit captured Thursdays explosion.

Webcam image from HVO Observation Tower of ash plume from this morning's explosive eruption at Klauea Volcano's summit. https://t.co/lV7HjT956l pic.twitter.com/8QEqFrWNsY

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Webcam image from HVO Observation Tower of ash plume from this morning's explosive eruption at Klauea Volcano's summit. https://t.co/lV7HjT956l pic.twitter.com/8QEqFrWNsY
USGS Volcanoes (@USGSVolcanoes) May 17, 2018

Wide angle @USGSVolcanoes camera shows incandescence in Halema'uma'u prior to this morning's eruption. Timelapse starts late yesterday afternoon pic.twitter.com/5tDcVkiQIg

Ian Nesbitt (@paleosurface) May 17, 2018","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Ian Nesbitt","author_url":"https://twitter.com/paleosurface","cache_age":86400,"description":"Wide angle @USGSVolcanoes camera shows incandescence in Halema'uma'u prior to this morning's eruption. 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Wide angle @USGSVolcanoes camera shows incandescence in Halema'uma'u prior to this morning's eruption. Timelapse starts late yesterday afternoon pic.twitter.com/5tDcVkiQIg
Ian Nesbitt (@paleosurface) May 17, 2018

The first recent significant explosive event occurred at a vent in the Halemaumau Crater on Wednesday night at around 6 p.m. local time. The second, larger, explosion occurred just after 4 a.m. and lasted for several minutes.

The summits crater is far from residential areas in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which has been shut down amid the explosions.

We expect activity could wax and wane like this in the near future, USGS volcanologist Michelle Coombs said in a Thursday morning update.

Coombs noted that rain in the area has helped minimize ash, limiting it mostly to the Kilauea summit area.

At any time, activity may again become more explosive, increasing the intensity of ash production and producing ballistic projectiles near the vent, USGS said on Thursday.

It is unclear what the fallout from the recent explosions looks like, as scientists have been ordered to stay away from the area for safety.

The explosions could have launched boulders weighing as much as 12 tons roughly the size of refrigerators up to half a mile, according to USGS .

Cheryl Chipman of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park said during a Thursday press call that the largest boulders could fall within a mile from the crater, while marble to pea-sized rocks could fall within four miles of it.