Flammagenitus cloud

[dubious – discuss][citation needed] A flammagenitus cloud is produced by the intense heating of the air from the surface.

The intense heat induces convection, which causes the air mass to rise to a point of stability, usually in the presence of moisture.

[citation needed] Flammageniti contain severe turbulence, manifesting as strong gusts at the surface, which can exacerbate a large conflagration.

This is a process not yet fully understood, but is probably in some way associated with charge separation induced by severe turbulence, and, perhaps, by the nature of the particles of ash in the cloud.

Large flammageniti can contain temperatures well below freezing, and the electrostatic properties of any ice that forms may also play a role.

The 2004 Willow Fire burning near Payson, Arizona , producing a flammagenitus cloud.
Firestorm schematic: (1) fire, (2) updraft, (3) strong gusty winds, (A) pyrocumulonimbus cloud
A flammagenitus cloud from the 2009 Station Fire in southern California
The 2021 Tiger Fire near Spring Valley, Arizona, producing a pyrocumulus cloud.
Flammagenitus clouds, born from a wildfire in Czech Republic in July 2022
Wildfire in Yellowstone National Park produces a flammagenitus cloud.
Flammagenitus cloud above the 2014 Oregon Gulch Fire in Oregon and California, 2014. Aircraft is an F-15C Eagle .
Wildfire in Yellowstone National Park produces pyrocumulus cloud