MTSAT-2 0.68 µm visible channel images (click image to play animation)
Mike Fromm (NRL) alerted us to what could be the first Northern Hemisphere PyroCumulonimbus event of 2013, in the Chita region of Russia southeast of Lake Baikal (along the Russia/Mongolia border). McIDAS images of MTSAT-2 0.68 µm visible channel data (above; click image to play animation) showed the development of the pyroCb at the center of the images around 06:32 UTC.
A 250-meter resolution Aqua MODIS true-color image at 05:37 UTC (below; courtesy of NASA LANCE Worldview) showed the fire region just as capping cumulus were beginning to form.
MODIS true color image
MTSAT-2 3.74 µm shortwave IR images (below; click image to play animation) revealed a large number of fire “hot spots” (dark black pixels) due to widespred fire activity across the region.
MTSAT-2 3.75 µm shortwave IR images (click image to play animation)