When Fire Creates Its Own Weather: How Pyrocumulonimbus Clouds Complicate Firefighting

Florida-based AI technology helping to fight extreme wildfires

You may have heard of cumulonimbus clouds, but what about pyrocumulonimbus clouds?

Living in Florida, you likely have noticed the towering clouds resembling cauliflower on any given afternoon. These thunderstorm clouds — called cumulonimbus clouds — sometimes grow taller than 40,000 feet and can produce damaging wind, heavy rain, lightning and sometimes hail.

Pyrocumulonimbus, also known as PyroCb, are essentially the same thing. However, the fire itself provides extra heat to create rising air. With the exceptional heat from the fire, instability is generated to produce thunderstorms in the vicinity of the wildfire.

The lightning within the thunderstorm could go on to ignite additional fires, complicating the firefight.

UF Innovate | The Hub resident client Fire Neural Network is using its technology during the wildfires in California to help detect these lightning strikes.

Read more about When Fire Creates Its Own Weather: How Pyrocumulonimbus Clouds Complicate Firefighting.