‘Firenado’ warning in California as out of control wildfires spread

A “firenado” as an “extreme weather phenomenon that can occur with rotating fire columns”.It erupts when rising heat from a fire is caught by gusts of wind that change direction, similar to a traditional tornado.

According to CNN- The rare and fiery tornado was spotted Saturday near a fire in California. The National Weather Service Office (NWS) issued a tornado warning for a pyrocumulonimbus cloud that formed by the Loyalton Fire, saying it was “capable of producing a fire-induced tornado and outflow winds in excess of 60 mph,” CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said. A pyrocumulonimbus cloud forms above intense rising heat, typically from a fire or volcano. Fire tornadoes are created when the rising heat from a fire pulls in smoke, fire and dirt, creating a rotation vortex above the blaze, Brink said.

This is believed to be the first “firenado” warning the NWS has ever issued

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