In December, the world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, erupted in Hawaii after 38 years of dormancy. The event was so explosive, it was seen from space and brought out tourists in droves to see the eruption in person.
Over the weekend, authorities predicted that Hawaii's second-largest volcano, Kilauea, was also on the verge of erupting.
A shallow earthquake swarm was detected beneath the summit of Kilauea on Saturday morning. That was followed by a magnitude 3.4 earthquake about two miles away that was felt locally and triggered a rockfall in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The U.S. Geological Survey warned that eruptive activity at Kilauea appeared to be imminent.
By late Saturday, however, the agency reversed its warning.
"Kilauea volcano is not erupting," the U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement. "[Seismic activity] has returned to background levels, ground deformation has stabilized, and no lava has been observed at the surface."
Scientists said the warning signs for eruptive activity were likely the result of a "magmatic intrusion" beneath the summit, which triggered the shallow earthquakes.
The agency noted that instruments on the volcano have been recording an "inflationary signal" since March 7, "indicating that magma has been accumulating beneath the surface." As such, Kilauea remains at a "watch" level for eruption -- the second highest alert level.
"Resumption of eruptive activity at Kilauea summit no longer appears to be imminent, although it is possible that another intrusion or resumption may occur in the near future with little or no warning," the U.S. Geological Survey said.
Kilauea's last eruption lasted from September 2021 through December 2022. A 2018 eruption destroyed over 700 homes and covered over 8,700 acres with lava.
On January 5, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected a glow in Kilauea summit webcam images, indicating that another eruption had begun. Daily updates have since been released as crews continue to closely monitor the volcano.
"No active lava has been observed over the past 24 hours," the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said on Sunday. "A few features on the crater floor are still glowing slightly in overnight webcam views, but these are not erupting lava."
Last week, officials said Kilauea's summit eruption had "paused" after 61 days of volcanic activity and active lava is only intermittently visible on the surface.
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