pyrocumulonimbus

English

Etymology

From pyro- +‎ cumulonimbus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌpaɪɹəʊˌkjuːmjʊləˈnɪmbəs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

pyrocumulonimbus (plural pyrocumulonimbi)

1. An extreme manifestation of a pyrocumulus, generated by the heat of a wildfire, that often rises to the upper troposphere or lower stratosphere.

   Synonym: cumulonimbus flammagenitus

   Coordinate term: thunderhead

   • 2020, Daniel Mathews, Trees in Trouble: Wildfires, Infestations, and Climate Change‎^[1], Catapult, →ISBN:

     An analysis of how this tornado formed sees several factors joining forces: the preexisting winds and local topography, a pyrocumulonimbus storm developing, and the addition of hotter-burning fuels as the fire hit groups of houses.

   • [2021 July 19, Henry Fountain, “How Bad Is the Bootleg Fire? It’s Generating Its Own Weather.”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Last Wednesday, though, conditions led to the creation of a larger, taller cloud called a pyrocumulonimbus, which is similar to a thunderhead. It likely reached an altitude of about 45,000 feet, said Neil Lareau, who studies wildfire behavior at the University of Nevada, Reno.]