pyrocumulus

[pahy-roh-kyoo-myuh-luhs]

noun

1. a cloud produced from rising warm air and water vapour, caused by intense heat such as from fire or volcanic activity.

Example Sentences

In this time lapse footage, the Dragon Bravo Fire produces a pyrocumulus cloud.

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As the smoke rises, water vapor in the air condenses at high altitudes, creating what is known as a pyrocumulus cloud, or fire cloud.

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In the days that followed, tourists on the South Rim of the canyon, and social media viewers around the globe, watched in awe as the fire grew so big and hot it created its own weather, sending pyrocumulus clouds billowing hundreds of feet into the air and dense smoke streaming down into the idyllic canyon below.

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One saving grace is that the pyrocumulus clouds can produce rain, which in some cases will suppress the very fire that created them.

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Less fortunately, both factors can act to speed fire spread and promote pyrocumulus formation.

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