Maria Putsay (EUMeTrain) - How do Pyro-Cb clouds appear in satellite imagery?
Competency Framework
WMO Satellite Skills
Application
Description
Maria Putsay discusses convective clouds that form over wildfires, focusing on Pyrocumulonimbus clouds and their detection in satellite imagery.
Content
Pyrocumulonimbus (pyro-Cb) clouds can form above wildfires. These are fire-aided or fire-caused convective clouds with considerable vertical development. Large amounts of smoke particles are injected into these clouds. The increased number of condensation nuclei causes extremely small ice crystals on the cloud tops. That is why the typical colors of these clouds vary in several RGBs. The cloud top color may help to identify pyro-Cb clouds, which might be dangerous by causing extreme low-level winds, and hence increasing fire spread.