Hawaii's eruption cycle should continue for a long time
The big science news we’ve all been hearing about for May has been the eruption of Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The major eruption has been going on since May 3 and has led to the evacuation of more than 2,000 residents.
As of this weekend, lava has destroyed 82 structures and covered about 3.5 square miles of land in lower Puna. With lava covering roadways, residents of 37 homes no longer have access. In addition to the eruption, more earthquakes were measured last Friday. They occurred near the summit of Kilauea and the largest was a magnitude of 4.4. According to the U.S. Geologic Survey, there were about 90 earthquakes of various intensities on the summit.
The Hawaiian volcanic eruption has sent ash clouds up to 11,000 feet high. To have an effect on global temperatures, ash clouds would have to be as high as at least 100,000 feet. The eruptions would also have to be far more explosive.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has been closed down due to the eruption. Officials are concerned about public safety as toxic gasses have been released. Despite the eruption, the remainder of the Big Island is still in good shape. Hawaiian eruptions are not the explosive type like the ones we hear about along the “Ring of Fire.” The other Hawaiian islands, like Oahu, Kauai and Maui are not currently seeing any effects of the volcanic eruption.
I plan to be in Hawaii in late June. Depending on the conditions I might take a fast trip to the Big Island if there’s a chance to see the erupting volcano. Being a geography guy, it may be too tempting to pass up. However, back in 1989, my wife and I did get to see an erupting volcano on the Big Island, but it was much less intense.
Driving into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was almost eerie. We came in at dusk and it was like entering into another world. The area surrounding the park was green and lush, then it turns to gray from the previous lava flows. I remember seeing the red lava coming down the mountain and we thought about turning back. Sally and I decided to go forward, and it was one of the most amazing things we ever saw.
The helicopter tour was just as fascinating as they took us directly over the crater. I recall seeing the new fires from the eruption and the lava going into the Pacific Ocean. It was quite an experience, but here’s one more interesting part. When we arrived back in Honolulu, San Francisco was dominating the news. The day before we were scheduled to fly back to San Francisco, the big 7.1 earthquake occurred. We then got rerouted back to Sacramento.
Although, we’re seeing a relatively dramatic eruption of Kilauea, this cycle began on Jan. 3, 1983. At that time, there were lava fountains, but frequent and short eruptions produced chunky lava flows that cooled and halted rather quickly. But, the following July, lava did destroy 16 homes in the nearby Royal Gardens subdivision. In 1986, more lava flows made it through the Hawaiian town of Kalapana.
The Big Island has 6 volcanoes. They include Mahukona Volcano, Kohala Volcano, Mauna Kea Volcano, Mauna Loa Volcano, Hualalai Volcano and, of course, Kilauea. With the Big Island being the newest one, there will likely be no end to the various eruption cycles anytime soon.
As far as our local weather, we’ve seen some very nice afternoons with highs in the 80s. However, we’re not seeing the above normal precipitation totals like last month. May’s precipitation in Coeur d’Alene now stands at 1.34 inches, compared to the normal of 2.37 inches, so this month’s total will end up below average.
Despite the recent drier than normal weather, we do see some more showers and thunderstorms developing in early June. Cliff and I still anticipate a drier than normal summer season, but not as dry as 2017. Fire danger levels will also be increasing, so be careful.
So, when do you think we’ll have our first 90-degree reading of the 2018 season? Give us your guess and you’ll have the chance to win up to $700 in gift cards from area restaurants and food servers.
The contest is located at www.cdacontest.com. It will run until Thursday, or when our first 90-degree temperature is hit, so the contest ends later this week. But, you only get one guess per email address. (By the way, I promise that email address will not be shared or sold.) As always, our temperatures will be monitored by Coeur d’Alene’s long-time climatologist, Cliff Harris. He will provide the exact date and time when Coeur d’Alene hits 90 degrees (89.5 degrees).
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Contact Randy Mann at randy@longrangeweather.com.