Pyrocumulus Cloud - Effects On Wildfires

Effects On Wildfires

A pyrocumulus cloud can help or hinder a fire. Sometimes, the moisture from the air condenses in the cloud and then falls as rain, often extinguishing the fire. There have been notable examples where a large firestorm has been extinguished by the pyrocumulus that it created. However, if the fire is large enough, then the cloud may continue to grow, and become a type of cumulonimbus cloud known as a pyrocumulonimbus cloud, which may produce lightning and start another fire; however, this cloud type is not differentiated from cumulonimbus by the World Meteorological Organization.