See it: Fiery tornado-like 'Tephra Devil' swirls on Hawaii's Kilauea volcano

A unique phenomenon known as a "Tephra Devil" was captured swirling over a crater on Hawaii's Kilauea during the volcano's 47th eruptive episode last week.

See it: Fiery tornado-like 'Tephra Devil' swirls on Hawaii's Kilauea volcano. A unique phenomenon known as a "Tephra Devil" was captured swirling over a crater on Hawaii's Kilauea during the volcano's 47th eruptive episode last week. Episode 47 of lava fountaining in Halemaʻumaʻu began at the summit of Kīlauea at 3:27 p.m. HST on May 14th, 2026. This photo was taken nearly three hours later, at 6:18 p.m., from the south rim of the crater, and shows the north vent lava fountain (left) feeding lava flows that are advancing across the crater floor. Tephra is a catch-all term that describes various kinds of rocks blasted into the air during eruptions. The swirl seen in this video is similar to a dust devil — where the ground warms a thin layer of air directly above it that rises. Surrounding air rushes in to fill that void and sometimes conve...