Fire-Breathing Storm Systems
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 - 09:30
in Earth & Climate
Pyrocumulonimbus is the fire-breathing dragon of clouds. A cumulonimbus without the "pyre" part is imposing enough -- a massive, anvil-shaped tower of power reaching five miles (8 km) high, hurling thunderbolts, wind and rain. Add smoke and fire to the mix and you have pyrocumulonimbus, an explosive storm cloud actually created by the smoke and heat from fire, and which can ravage tens of thousands of acres. And in the process, "pyroCb" storms funnel their smoke like a chimney into Earth's stratosphere, with lingering ill effects. Researchers believe these intense storms may be the source of what previously was believed to have been volcanic particles in the stratosphere.