Weather

As California battles the biggest fire outbreaks in its history a giant pyryocumulonimbus cloud formed last week. This happens when fires become strong enough that their heat mass punches through the atmosphere, spawning fire tornados and lightning that can carry embers for miles.

Although rare, the clouds were witnessed during the Australian fires that began in September, 2019. Both California and Australia are suffering through environmental policies that restricted fire maintenance. To make matters worse California released many of the state prisoners who were trained to help the fire lines.

The image below was taken by Thalia Dockery on Sept. 5 over California’s “Creek Fire” during a flight from San Jose to Las Vegas.

A “Derecho” storm (named for “straight-line wind damage”), lasting 14 hours and traveling 770 miles through the Midwest, destroyed millions of acres of cropland on Tuesday, before losing strength in Ohio.

The Mississippi River flowed backwards, crops were flattened in their fields, buildings were torn apart and grain bins collapsed in the 100 mph winds. Unlike tornados, there are no warning systems for Derecho’s.

Iowa expects 10 million out of its 30 million aces of agricultural land was damaged.