McIDAS images of 1-km resolution GOES-15 (GOES-West) and GOES-13 (GOES-East) 0.63 µm visible channel data (above; click image to play animation) showed a pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud from the West Fork fire complex rapidly penetrating the tops of surrounding orographically-induced cumulonimbus (Cb) clouds, beginning around 20:10 UTC or 2:10 PM local time on 28 June 2013. […]

Two large fires burning in southern Colorado began to produce pyrocumulonimbus clouds and very large smoke plumes, as seen on GOES-13 0.63 µm visible channel (top panels) and 3.9 µm shortwave IR images (bottom panels)  on 19 June (above; click image to play animation) and on 20 June 2012 (below; click image to play animation). […]

As mentioned on the CIMSS Satellite Blog, record heat in Alaska led to an increase in wildfire activity in Alaska — and GOES-15 (GOES-West) 0.63 µm visible channel images (above; click image to play animation) showed the development of pyrocumulonimbus clouds associated with large fires burning in southwestern Alaska (to the northeast and northwest of […]

The Silver Fire continued to burn in southwestern New Mexico on 13 June 2013. GOES-13 0.63 µm visible channel images (above; click image to play animation) showed the development of a well-defined pyrocumulonimbus cloud, which then began to merge with orographic cumulonimbus clouds which were building to the west of the fire. An overpass of […]

The Jaroso Fire in northeastern New Mexico produced a very large Pyrocumulonimbus cloud on 11 June 2013. GOES-15 0.63 µm visible channel images (above; click image to play animation; also available as a QuickTime movie) show the development of the well-defined pyroCb cloud, which then proceeded to drift rapidly eastward. There were several other fires […]