During the ongoing wildfires in California, a relatively newly-discovered phenomenon was captured on film: firenadoes.
It's long been known that large out-of-control fires can and do produce their own weather. The warm air from the flames rises, and condenses in the atmosphere, causing water droplets to form. These droplets stick to the ask and dirt smoke into the air by the fire, and form cumulonimbus clouds. These are called Pyrocumulonimbus, in reference to their association with fires.
These clouds, while usually not rain makers, often produce winds of severe strength (57 MPH or greater). They also produce large amounts of lightning. Both of these things make these clouds hazards to firefighters and can aid in starting and expanding new fires.
Any severe storm is capable of producing a tornado. There have long been reports of tornadoes forming from pyrocumulonibmus clouds that are made of fire and smoke. However, scientists were skeptical until one was caught on camera in Australia.
It's now possible that these are not as rare as we thought. Multiple firenadoes were caught on camera during the Loyalton Fire near the CA/NV border a few days ago. The National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Reno, NV, even issued tornado warning when strong rotation was seen on radar, the first ever firenado warning.
While these amazing monsters are certainly interesting, they could be even worse than a normal tornado. Imagine a tornado, even a relatively weak one, like an EF1, passing through an urban area. Then, throw in fire. The results could be catastrophic.
Just thought I'd share these pretty cool phenomenon! I originally heard about the TOR and the firenadoes in Cal here.
It's long been known that large out-of-control fires can and do produce their own weather. The warm air from the flames rises, and condenses in the atmosphere, causing water droplets to form. These droplets stick to the ask and dirt smoke into the air by the fire, and form cumulonimbus clouds. These are called Pyrocumulonimbus, in reference to their association with fires.
These clouds, while usually not rain makers, often produce winds of severe strength (57 MPH or greater). They also produce large amounts of lightning. Both of these things make these clouds hazards to firefighters and can aid in starting and expanding new fires.
Any severe storm is capable of producing a tornado. There have long been reports of tornadoes forming from pyrocumulonibmus clouds that are made of fire and smoke. However, scientists were skeptical until one was caught on camera in Australia.
It's now possible that these are not as rare as we thought. Multiple firenadoes were caught on camera during the Loyalton Fire near the CA/NV border a few days ago. The National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Reno, NV, even issued tornado warning when strong rotation was seen on radar, the first ever firenado warning.
While these amazing monsters are certainly interesting, they could be even worse than a normal tornado. Imagine a tornado, even a relatively weak one, like an EF1, passing through an urban area. Then, throw in fire. The results could be catastrophic.
Just thought I'd share these pretty cool phenomenon! I originally heard about the TOR and the firenadoes in Cal here.