More on the eruption of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano

Weather closed in on the Mauna Loa volcanic eruption limiting visual observations on Hawaii’s Big Island Tuesday.  But the USGS Volcanoes website calls attention to this awesome National Park Service Storyful video and photo review (with accompanying text) recounting on the first eruption in Mauna Loa in 38 years–since 1984–and the presentation is stunning! 

Check it out here.

I posted this extraordinary USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) video from Dec 5th (this past Monday) of the lava flowing out of the erupting Mauna Loa Volcano–and was asked how fast the lava was moving. The short answer is 18 mph–though it slowed down as it flowed from 11,000 ft. down to flatter terrain at the 7,000 ft level.    HVO scientists posted an answer Tuesday to the speed at which the lava, seen here, is flowing on the USGS US Volcanoes site.

The post reads: “MaunaLoa’s fissure 3 lava channel on Dec 5, 2022. Lava velocities close to the vent were ~26-36 ft per second (8.2-11 m per second) or about 18 mph. Farther downslope, wide lava flow front advances slowly at rate of ~68 ft per hour (21 m per hr) as of Dec 6. Video by L. Gallant.”

Here’s a second video released by the USGS Hawiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) of the lava flowing out of the eruption Mauna Loa volcano on the Big Island in Hawaii. Scientists indicate this stream of 2000+-deg molten lava is moving a 22-27 mph.