pyrocumulonimbus

plural pyrocumulonimbi

1. An extreme manifestation of a pyrocumulus, generated by the heat of a wildfire, that often rises to the upper troposphere or lower stratosphere.

   An analysis of how this tornado formed sees several factors joining forces: the preexisting winds and local topography, a pyrocumulonimbus storm developing, and the addition of hotter-burning fuels as the fire hit groups of houses.

   2020, Daniel Mathews, Trees in Trouble: Wildfires, Infestations, and Climate Change, Catapult, →ISBN

   1 more example

   Last Wednesday, though, conditions led to the creation of a larger, taller cloud called a pyrocumulonimbus, which is similar to a thunderhead. It likely reached an altitude of about 45,000 feet, said Neil Lareau, who studies wildfire behavior at the University of Nevada, Reno.

   [2021 July 19, Henry Fountain, “How Bad Is the Bootleg Fire? It’s Generating Its Own Weather.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   Synonyms: cumulonimbus flammagenitus