CIMSS Satellite Blog

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

A large pyroCumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud developed from the Mallard Fire in the Texas Panhandle on 11 May 2018.  1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-16 (GOES-East) “Red” Visible (0.64 µm), Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images (above) showed the large thermal anomaly or “hot spot” (red 3.9 µm pixels) and the rapid development of  the pyroCb cloud beginning shortly after 1900 UTC. Cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures cooled to -60 ºC by around 2130 UTC. On the Shortwave Infrared imagery, note the relatively warm (darker gray) appearance of the pyroCb cloud top — a characteristic signature due to enhanced reflection of solar radiation off of smaller cloud-top particles.

Serious weather nerd moment but absolutely amazing watching the #MallardFire form pyrocumulonimbus & severe thunderstorms over the Texas panhandle. Look at that lightning activity! Wow! #TXwx #PHwx #OKwx #TXfire pic.twitter.com/poozQuipF5

— Zach Stanford (@zachstanford) May 12, 2018

from CIMSS Satellite Blog http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/archives/27968