Kilauea Eruption
On 10 March 2026, NWS WFO Honolulu, HI, issued a rare Ashfall Warning over the big island of Hawai’i as Kilauea, an active shield volcano, had violently erupted (yet again). This time, the volcanic eruption produced a significant ash plume that led to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park to temporarily close parts of the park and nearby Highway 11, as copious amounts of ash and tephra fell from the sky.
The GOES-18 Ash RGB captured the extensive plume consisting of SO2 (bright green pixels) and a mix of ash and SO2 (yellow pixels), that traveled across the east side of the big island of Hawai’i and then traversed the Central Pacific Ocean. In the GOES animation below, the plume rapidly ejects to the southeast while shifting to the north/northeast throughout the time period.
GOES – 18 ABI Ash RGB from 1700Z, 10 March 2026 to 0300Z, 11 March 2026
During the afternoon of 10 March 2026, two overpasses from NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 VIIRS show the ash and SO2 advecting offshore. The VIIRS Ash RGB comprises of the 8.6 um (M14), 10.8 um (M15), and 12.0 um (M16) spectral channels, while exhibiting a 750-m spatial resolution.
VIIRS Ash RGB at 2302Z and 2352Z, 10 March 2026
Additionally, Kilauea’s hotspot could be seen by polar-orbiting satellites via the VIIRS Day Fire RGB animation, provided below.