Pyrocumulonimbus Cloud Spotted In California, NASA Calls It 'Fire Breathing Dragon Of Clouds'

The wildfires in the US have wreaked havoc on the country's forests and more than five billion acres have been destroyed in California, Oregon and Washington state.

California's fires are so intense they have their own thunderstorms. NASA has called the formations 'fire-breathing dragon of clouds'.

The state's current 'state' looks like there was an atomic explosion. People have spotted a pyrocumulonimbus cloud over California while travelling by air. It looks like an gigantic plume of hot, smoky air that had risen from a wildfire then turned into a thundercloud in Earth's atmosphere, reported Business Insider.

Also read: Fire Rescue Team In Northern California Find An Adorable Puppy That Escaped Raging Wildfire

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The report adds that a particular pyrocumulonimbus cloud that was seen by passengers flying over California to Las Vegas. It came from the Creek Fire, which has reportedly burnt 212,000 acres in Fresno and Madera counties since it began on September 4. The cloud was as high as 55,000 feet which possibly makes it the highest pyrocumulonimbus cloud ever recorded in the United States.

Neil Lareau, professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Nevada at Reno told The Washington Post, ¡°It¡¯s about a solid 10,000 feet higher than we¡¯re typically seeing with the highest of these plumes".

Pyrocumulonimbus clouds were never a common sight but are now becoming a frequent occurrence in regions like California and Australia due to climate change triggering hotter and harder to contain wildfires.

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These clouds can make their own weather which can further aggravate the wildfires. They are formed when big fires which cause an upward movement of hot air containing ash and smoke interacts with water vapour in the atmosphere above.

Usually, pyrocumulus clouds are not drastically dangerous and sometimes, smoky rain produced by one can help extinguish a fire. However, California does not get much rain from the cloud and even if any rain takes place in a dry environment, it evaporates before it reaches the ground.

Once the blazes are aggressive enough and the air has moisture, the condensation process keeps the air inside the cloud warmer than outside of it. This lets the cloud to rise higher and reach an altitude where the temperature is just below freezing. Raindrops and lightning can begin to form which causes the cloud to turn into a pyrocumulonimbus.

To make matters worse, lightning produced by the cloud can hit the ground ignite even more wildfires or add to the ones already burning.

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