Australia's Deadly Bushfires Are So Big They've Started Generating Their Own Weather

JIM EDWARDS, BUSINESS INSIDER
1 JAN 2020

The bushfires in Australia are now so big that they are generating their own weather, in the form of giant thunderstorms that start more fires, according to the Bureau of Meteorology in Victoria.

"Pyro-cumulonimbus clouds have developed to altitudes over 16km in East #Gippsland this afternoon. These fire-induced storms can spread fires through lightning, lofting of embers and generation of severe wind outflows," the bureau tweeted on Monday.

. . .

Intense fires generate smoke, obviously. But their heat can also create a localised updraft powerful enough to create its own changes in the atmosphere above.

As the heat and smoke rise, the cloud plume can cool off, generating a large, puffy cloud full of potential rain. The plume can also scatter embers and hot ash over a wider area.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-bushfires-in-australia-are-so-big-they-re-generating-their-own-weather