fire tornado

American  

[fahyuhr tawr-ney-doh] / ˈfaɪər tɔrˌneɪ doʊ /

noun

Meteorology.

• fire tornadoes,
  plural
• fire tornados
  plural

1. a flaming tornado generated by intense wildfire, rarer, much larger, and more destructive than a fire whirl.

   It may have begun from the ground as a fire whirl, but it now raged with a cloud-to-ground ferocity that could only belong to an actual fire tornado.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fire tornadoes
  plural
• fire tornados
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fire tornado

First recorded in 1845–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fire tornado

Driving south along the coast, they made their way to the east side of the island, watching as flames leapt across the landscape in what looked like a "fire tornado," she said.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2023

On Sunday, the National Weather Service tweeted a video of a fire tornado, or "fire whirl," from San Diego County's 1,500-acre Chaparral Fire.

From Fox News ● Aug. 30, 2021

On July 18, a day of especially extreme fire activity, the blaze spawned a fire tornado in the Fremont-Winema National Forest, scientists say.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2021

Mr. Redman said the incident command had not received any reports of a fire tornado.

From New York Times ● Jul. 19, 2021

The wizards are too busy fleeing the fire tornado to pay us any mind.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas