Note: even though this large-scale smoke event was not pyroCb-related, we feel that it is important enough to document in terms of the long-range transport of biomass burning smoke and the potential implications on weather and climate far from the fire source regions. Himawari-8 shows the smoke over the northeastern part of Asia. The animation […]
On 12 July there was a possibility for pyroCb development in southeast Russia. By using satellite imagery from the new Japanese satellite Himawari-8 it was confirmed that these clouds formed near the fires but were not technically pyroCb. Himawari-8 detected the smoke plume and clouds around the fires, as well as the fire hot spots. Starting […]
In Canada and Alaska, 2015 has been the year for wildfires. As of 08 July, the number of acres burned in Alaska has been the second highest in recorded history. In Canada the acres burned already exceeds the annual 10-year average for an entire year (image below). The government has deployed 1,000 military personnel to […]
On 11 July there were a reported two pyroCbs in British Columbia. The first was at 56.4 N 123.9 W, producing a pyroCb around 00:30 UTC. GOES-15 detected the smoke plume and pyroCb cloud, as well as the fire hot spot. Starting at 22:30 UTC on 10 July, the animation below shows visible (.63 μm) on the […]
On 05 July there was possibility that a fire in southern British Columbia (located at 50º N, 123.5º W) produced a small pyroCb cloud; upon further analysis it was determined that this fire did indeed produce a pyroCb because the satellite-detected cloud-top IR brightness temperature reached the -40º C or colder threshold. GOES-15 3.9 µm […]
On 03 July a pyroCb was produced at 23:30 in Alberta (58.2 N 118.3 W). GOES-15 detected the smoke plume and pyroCb cloud, as well as the fire hot spot. Starting at 22:00 UTC on 03 July, the animation below shows visible (.63 μm) on the left and shortwave IR (3.9 μm) on the right (click image […]
