Feared pyrocumulonimbus clouds, akin to fire-triggered thunderstorms, are becoming more frequent as blazes rage
Typically, thunderstorms are initiated by large-scale storm systems like a low pressure zone or a cold front. But if a fire is large enough and there is enough moisture in the atmosphere, it can create its own thunderstorm where smoke mixes with the resulting thunderstorm cloud. “Essentially, the fire is creating its own weather,” Mallia said.
A pyrocumulonimbus cloud is generated by the intense Orroral Valley bushfire burning to the south of Canberra, Australia, in 2020.They also can cause fires to move in erratic ways, because they create a vacuum between the cloud and the ground. The hotter a wildfire burns, the more rising air it produces, said David Peterson, a meteorologist at the US Naval Research Laboratory, during ain 2021.
Lightning flashes over Siskiyou county, California, last month. Lightning strikes sparked new wildfires for crews battling the McKinney fire nearby.In some cases, the tall plumes and fire convection can boost aerosols into the stratosphere, like a– pushing particles into the jet stream that can affect air quality at continental scales. That’s what happened when smoke from fires on the west coast was pushed all the way to New York City.
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