Rare 'fire tornado' rips through California as heat wave descends on the US: CNN

Aug 17, 2020

2020 has reached into its bag of tricks again and tossed out another surprise - this time in the form of a swirling fire.

Or as meteorologists call it, a "firenado" - short for fire tornado.

The rare and fiery tornado was spotted Saturday near a fire in California.

A huge forest fire that prompted evacuations north of Los Angeles flared up around noon Saturday, August 15, sending up a cloud of smoke as it headed toward thick, dry brush in the Angeles National Forest. (AP)

The National Weather Service Office issued a tornado warning for a pyrocumulonimbus cloud that formed by the Loyalton Fire, saying it was "capable of producing a fire-induced tornado and outflow winds in excess of 97km/h," CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said.

A pyrocumulonimbus cloud forms above intense rising heat, typically from a fire or volcano.

Fire tornadoes are created when the rising heat from a fire pulls in smoke, fire and dirt, creating a rotation vortex above the blaze, Ms Brink said.

Fire tornadoes can be massive and deadly.

#wildfire, #bushfires

When the National Weather Service surveyed the damage on that firenado, it determined it was equivalent to an EF-3 tornado with winds in excess of 230km/h.

Officials in California, Oregon and Colorado are battling a series of wildfires that have collectively torched more than 40,000 hectares - and things could get worse with intense heat descending on much of the US.

The Loyalton Fire has burned over 8000 hectares and was five per cent contained by early Sunday.

Related: We need action to prevent further catastophic fires and we need to be prepared for wildfires

#wildfire, #bushfires, #California, #heatwaves, #drought, #climatechange, #climateaction, #cambio-climatico, #jailclimatecriminals,  

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