Ten years later: Looking back at the extreme "pyrocumulonimbus" weather of the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire in Alberta, Canada
As we approach the tenth anniversary of the "Beast" (May 2016), the meteorological power this fire produced is still astounding. Because of the fire's extreme intensity, it produced its own weather patterns, particularly pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) clouds. At elevations of almost 40,000 feet, these fire-produced thunderstorms functioned as a chimney, injecting smoke and ash straight into the stratosphere. #science