# For volcano watchers - maybe you'll get lucky! {Kilauea may be erupting} **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 5, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665 "2023-09-05T20:52:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 33
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/641 "2026-09-04T18:15:58Z")
Unclear, but perhaps this eruption is petering out. Did anyone notice that the 53rd episode came and went without any acknowledgment in this thread? (The 54th is the one mentioned just prior to this post.) Now, the reinflation is a bit erratic. The current prediction is for another episode between 7 and 12 September, but we’ll see. Also, the links for cameras V1, V2, and V3 changed again, as they sometimes do. I had to redo the bookmarks in my favorites file. Here’s the current set of links to YouTube: V1: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HggWKlZv9yk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HggWKlZv9yk) V2: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9-oSpYpubg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9-oSpYpubg) V3: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXKuUyKt8mc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXKuUyKt8mc) ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/642 "2026-09-04T19:27:02Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Here’s the current set of links to YouTube: Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2026, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/643 "2026-09-04T19:56:18Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Unclear, but perhaps this eruption is petering out. I had the same thought. I subscribe to HVO & get emails about each episode preliminaries, start, & end. I’ve been traveling a bunch but didn’t think I’d skipped one. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/644 "2026-09-05T02:19:06Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’ve been traveling a bunch but didn’t think I’d skipped one. It was August 12-13. I was busy in the middle of an intensive study program, so didn’t take the time to post anything even though I knew it had gone off again. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/645 "2026-09-05T15:46:53Z")
Wow. Yeah, I was traveling and those two dates were very busy for me too. I must have trashed the message from HVO without reading it. Or not noticed it/them until after the episode had ended. I know I didn’t visit the cams then or I’d have posted at least a 1-sentence head’s up here. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/646 "2026-09-05T17:56:36Z")
It seems that [Krakatoa](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiAm8nvsxRY) is currently erupting. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2026, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/647 "2026-09-05T19:18:16Z")
Oh boy, I can do volcanoes AND nitpicking in one post. Gotta love the SDMB. So, the nitpicks: 1. The word is not “Krakatoa,” it is more properly “Krakatau.” Last syllable doesn’t sound like “oh - uh” it sounds like “ow.” According to Simon Winchester, author of the gold standard book on the matter, the mistaken version took hold in the West after a telegram contained a typo or something. 2. Krakatau no longer exists. It completely blew apart. The mountain now erupting is “Anak Krakatau” which means “child of Krakatau.” Whew, sure glad I got that off my chest. Not sure the world could survive without my obsessive attention to detail. Wait, what? Oh, never mind. 😀 ETA: I believe Simon Winchester is worse than I am. I don’t know him, but I know people who do. He is said to be … exacting. Certainly the surfeit of footnotes in his Krakatau book suggests that this characterization is accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/648 "2026-09-09T14:44:22Z")
There’s an event going on right now. I checked the cams, not expecting to see anything, but surprise! ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/649 "2026-09-09T16:01:02Z")
Thanks! It’s got a tiny fountain and plenty of volume flowing out right now. Scrolling back in time, I can see this type of precursor activity has been happening on and off for at least the last 11 hours. There was dense fog before then. ETA: As I watched the [V1 cam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HggWKlZv9yk), at 06:07:40 according to the on-screen clock, the flow finished a subsiding phase; I saw the flow actually reverse direction and the little pool of lava sink out of sight. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/650 "2026-09-09T18:27:16Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > 1. The word is not “Krakatoa,” it is more properly “Krakatau.” Last syllable doesn’t sound like “oh - uh” it sounds like “ow.” Derived from the sound the last visitor to the island made, as the volcano exploded. Nah, not really. Thanks for confirming the pronunciation though. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/651 "2026-09-09T18:51:41Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Thanks for confirming the pronunciation though. It’s definitely nitpickery in the extreme. I thought sure Wikipedia would get it right, but no … they acknowledge “Krakatau” as a “transcription” of the name, but persist with Krakatoa. [The BBC is better](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czezydp4l97o) but mixed in with their correct use of “Krakatau” is an occasional “oa.” It’s especially weird on the graphic labeled “Anak Krakatoa.” The only reason I care is because I lived in Indonesia for so long that the “real” name eventually stuck (before living there, I thought it was Krakatoa). I’ve even spent time at Cerita Beach, across the water from Anak Krakatau on Sumatra, and watched it smoking. Plus I have a piece of pumice from it! (I collected two, but used one as a loofa and kept the other for my rock collection.) ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/652 "2026-09-10T04:50:53Z")
At 18:37:04 only visible on the [V3 cam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXKuUyKt8mc), the left vent (or is this the new middle vent) suddenly started shooting a lot of sparks when it had been dormant every time I’d looked during this episode. The right vent is the one that’s been showing repeated low fountains and flow. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/653 "2026-09-11T14:49:46Z")
It just started oozing again about five minutes ago. This time, I was lucky enough to catch the start up. ETA: I guess it’s raining right now, as V3 looks like its lens is wet. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/654 "2026-09-12T11:07:40Z")
Just got back from a semi-successful trip to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park - we checked the V1 camera around 8:30 pm, and it was demonstrating reasonably substantial precursor activity, so we decided what the heck, we’d give it a shot. From our house to the park entrance is about 65 minutes, plus another 10 or so to the parking lot, plus another 15 minutes or so of hiking to the viewing area, so it’s not crazy, but it does require something of a commitment. But hey … it’s Friday night and we don’t have anything significant planned for Saturday, so why not? Plus, since the eruption wasn’t in full swing, we’d have a better chance of arriving before traffic jammed up. Anyhow, we did NOT coincide with any fountaining, but the precursor stuff was nice. The walk to the viewing area is quite lovely at night when the vents are glowing, and once you reach the lookout it’s rather delightful even when there is no fountaining. [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/VSu9p1N.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/VSu9p1N) [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/O1B8LKb.jpeg "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/O1B8LKb) ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/655 "2026-09-13T20:32:02Z")
No flow in the last 12 hours… has this episode ended with no high fountaining? ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/656 "2026-09-13T20:38:47Z")
No - the tilt meter is still going up. Currently it is above the height at which the last eruption occurred. So any time now it will fountain - despite the teasing! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/657 "2026-09-13T23:18:42Z")
HVO’s announcements of precuror activity always include a boilerplate paragraph saying that a precursor episode can last hours ir weeks and stop & start repeatedly. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2026, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/658 "2026-09-14T13:15:19Z")
Over the last 12 hours, it’s been doing a lot of sparking activity without flowing, building up this impressive mound of glowing rocks rather than spilling lava over the caldera floor. Which I just learned is called a “spatter cone.” ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/659 "2026-09-15T14:02:31Z")
Looks like this precursor episode is indeed very different. [Big Island Video News, 3 minutes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBSUmqfNrMk). ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/660 "2026-09-15T15:31:56Z")
Informative video, thanks for posting! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665.md?page=32) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665.md?page=34)