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Pyrocumulonimbus cloud from the Spring Fire in southern Colorado

By Scott Bachmeier •

GOES-16

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, top), Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm, middle) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm, bottom) images, with hourly plots of surface reports [click to play animation | MP4]

GOES-16 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images (above) showed the Spring Fire which began burning just west of La Veta Pass (station identifier KVTP) in south-central Colorado on 27 June 2018. The fire produced a small pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud around 0100 UTC, which drifted slowly to the northeast. The 10.3 µm cloud-top infrared brightness temperature cooled below the -40ºC (lime green enhancement) pyroCb threshold.

===== 29 June Update =====

NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.75 µm and 4.05 µm) and Near-Infrared (1.61 µm and 2.25 µm) images [click to enlarge]

NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.75 µm and 4.05 µm) and Near-Infrared (1.61 µm and 2.25 µm) images [click to enlarge]

A nighttime comparison of NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.75 µm and 4.05 µm) and Near-Infrared (1.61 µm and 2.25 µm) images at 0852 UTC or 2:52 am MST on 29 June (above; courtesy of William Straka, CIMSS) showed the visible and thermal signatures of the Spring Fire. With ample illumination from the Moon (in the Waning Gibbous phase, at 98% of full), the hazy signature of smoke could be seen drifting northeastward past the Colorado/Kansas border.

Categories: Fire detection, GOES-16, NOAA-20, VIIRS