Stunning Photos of California Fire Clouds

Credit: NASA.gov

These photographs were taken from an F-15C jet flown Oregon Air National Guard pilot James Haseltine on July 31, 2014, according to NASA.

Throughout northern California, fast-moving wildfires have charred more than 100,000 acres in recent days.

In recent weeks, the smoke plumes from the Beaver Complex fire along the California-Oregon border rose and blossomed into what scientists call “pyrocumulus clouds.” The are so large they can be seen by satellite.

According to NASA:

Pyrocumulus clouds—sometimes called “fire clouds”—are tall, cauliflower-shaped, and appear as opaque white patches hovering over darker smoke in satellite imagery. Pyrocumulus clouds are similar to cumulus clouds, but the heat that forces the air to rise (which leads to cooling and condensation of water vapor) comes from fire instead of sun-warmed ground. Under certain circumstances, pyrocumulus clouds can produce full-fledged thunderstorms, making them pyrocumulonimbus clouds.

» learn more via earthobservatory.NASA.gov