It’s raining glass in parts of Hawaii after Mount Kilauea eruption

The eruption from Hawaii’s Mount Kilauea has seen lava oozing from the volcano in stunning, frightening pictures, but it’s also brought about quite the oddity: Falling glass.

It’s called Pele’s hair, and they’re light strands of volcanic glass that have been falling downwind from the fissure. 

According to the United States Geological Survey, the glass has been accumulating within Leilani Estates, east of the volcano. 

Residents have been “urged to minimize exposure to these volcanic particles, which can cause skin and eye irritation similar to volcanic ash.” Drivers are also warned to not use their wipers if it falls on their windscreen, as the glass is abrasive.

“This is pretty crazy because we never did see Pele’s hair fall over Pahoa in my life, but now it’s all over my truck and also all the vehicles here,” Ikaika Marzo said in a Facebook Live video.

Pele’s hair, which is named after the Hawaiian goddess of fire, is created from the stretching or blowing-out of molten basaltic glass from lava, which spurts from fountains, cascades and flows, according to the USGS.

The strands can measure up to 2 metres (2.19 yards) long, but have a diameter of less than 0.5 millimetres (0.02 inches), and can blow tens of kilometres away if the wind is right.

It’s not a phenomenon unique to Hawaii, but it does have a different name in Iceland, where it’s known as “nornahár,” a.k.a. “witches hair.”