Playing around with some visualizations: Here is a volume rendering of one of the plumes we measured this summer with the SJSU Ka-Band Doppler radar during NASA's #INSPYRE. This was the McCully Fire in Oregon.
Neil Lareau
@neillareau.bsky.social
Prof. of Atmos Sci. @unevadareno. Mountain WX, Wildfire Plumes, Backcountry Skiing, Frontcountry Dadding. Formerly: @SJSUmeteorology @UUtah @Livermore_Lab @MWObs https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=UGaGnAgAAAAJ&hl=en
#Pileus clouds forming atop #pyrocumulus were observed during #INSPYRE. These clouds are indicative of rapidly growing convection linked to intense fire. Co-located radar observations reveal the powerful updrafts (~20 m/s) driving their formation. science.nasa.gov?p=1422768
Radar reconstruction of today's (8/22) plume development from the #HawkFire in Reno, NV. Notable transition to a hydraulic like flow late in the day (~00 UTC) linked to dangerous run into town. We were conducting onsite lidar scans during the transition.
Rob Mayeda NBC Bay Area@robmayeda.bsky.social · 2mo agoIntense growth on the #HawkFire in Washoe County NW of Reno, timelapse showing columns with pyrocumulus tops at times as the fire grew rapidly into Saturday evening. 8/22/2026
Here is the corresponding visible imagery, which shows the #pyrocumulus cloud in exquisite detail.
Neil Lareau@neillareau.bsky.social · 3mo agoNASA’s #INSPYRE project captured extreme fire spread and pyroCu development on the #SandCreekFire in #MT on 8/11. MASTER imagery from the #ER2 blends IR and other channels to reveal the rapidly evolving fire front, smoke plume, and developing pyrocloud. Data processed by Roseanne Dominguez.
NASA’s #INSPYRE project captured extreme fire spread and pyroCu development on the #SandCreekFire in #MT on 8/11. MASTER imagery from the #ER2 blends IR and other channels to reveal the rapidly evolving fire front, smoke plume, and developing pyrocloud. Data processed by Roseanne Dominguez.
Glut of fire across far northern MN and Ontario today, culminating in a pulse of deep pyroCb complete with lightning. Outlier weather yield outlier fires.
A thermal signature of the cloud resulting from the #BlueOrigin #NewGlenn rocket explosion at Cape Canaveral, Florida (shortly after sunset on 28 May) was evident in #GOESEast (#GOES19) ABI Infrared spectral bands 07-16.
I wonder what the "origin" of all this "blue" is on the correlation coefficient?
Fun day yesterday getting our UNR atmospheric sciences crew fire-line qualified with the help of Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District.
The birth of a family of supercells in eastern Nebraska: #NEwx (testing to see if gifs work yet...)
Flattered to have the Editor's highlight featuring my recent spotting paper: Weather Radar Data Reveal the Dynamics of Rapidly Spreading Wildfires eos.org/editor-highl...
Weather Radar Data Reveal the Dynamics of Rapidly Spreading Wildfires - Eos
New research demonstrates the use of operational weather radar measurements to track long-range ember fallout and rapid spread of intense wildfires.
eos.org
Extreme wildfire spread isn’t just wind-driven. We show the Camp Fire’s explosive growth came from plume-coupled spotting: embers lofted, transported, and deposited in organized zones 5–10+ km ahead, igniting new fire fronts. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
Fires, plumes, and wind shifts. Stay clear of the south flank of these fires in Nebraska, which will open up as the front surges through.
New paper out! We document tornado-strength (98 mph) counter-rotating vortices that developed within California’s 2021 #DixieFire. These fire-generated vortices reshaped the fire front and spread, posing immediate risks to firefighters and civilians. doi.org/10.1175/MWR-...
Water levels are fluctuating rapidly as the tsunami hits Midway Island, 1,200 miles northwest of Hawaii... wow.
Diverting money from science funding for immigration crack downs is dumb. Science funding provides enormous ROI. Deporting & intimidating unauthorized immigrants undermines the functioning and growth of our economy. In other words, you spend money to lose money, or negative ROI.
Updated figure from Jain et al. showing global extreme fire weather trends since 1979. Metrics are global 95th percentile of annual Fire Weather Index (FWI), Initial Spread Index (ISI) and the Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD). The trend is clear - we are seeing more extreme fire weather due to warming.
1/n: Still trying to understand the Lake Tahoe boating disaster from this past weekend. I like letting the data lead. Lets start with the radar, where I've added a red line annotating the clear, coherent wind shift associated with the front sagging south across the region.
Visible & Infrared images from #GOES19/#GOESEast showed that the #TroutFire in New Mexico produced a #pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud on 14 June - the first pyroCb in the US for the 2025. More on the CIMSS Satellite Blog: cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-bl... H/T @neillareau.bsky.social
Total estimated emissions of 2025 Canadian #wildfires to 03/06 at ~50 MtC, comparable to 2023 record over same period, and increasing. #CopernicusAtmosphere Global Fire Assimilation System data based on MODIS🛰️ active fire obs ads.atmosphere.copernicus.eu/datasets/cam... @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social
Copernicus ECMWF@copernicusecmwf.bsky.social · last yr.Canada and Russia are experiencing intense early wildfire activity ahead of the boreal summer. CAMS is tracking smoke transport across vast distances, impacting atmospheric conditions as far away as Europe and the Arctic. Check out the full details atmosphere.copernicus.eu/cams-tracks-...
As noted by NRL's Mike Fromm, another exceptional #PryoCB today in Saskatchewan this afternoon.
Robust plumes of pyrocumulonimbus billow from wildfires in Alberta. These were among many wildfires exhibiting extreme behavior yesterday across Canada.
Massive smoke plumes from fires in Saskatchewan and Manitoba this evening. GOES East-geocolor loop below.
