A Conceptual Model for Development of Intense Pyrocumulonimbus in Western North America

Abstract

he first observationally based conceptual model for intense pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) development is described by applying reanalyzed meteorological model output to an inventory of 26 intense pyroCb events from June-August 2013 and a control inventory of intense fire activity without pyroCb. Results are based on 88 intense wildfires observed within the western United States and Canada. While surface-based fire weather indices are a useful indicator of intense fire activity, they are not a skillful predictor of intense pyroCb. Development occurs when a layer of increased moisture content and instability is advected over a dry, deep, and unstable mixed layer, typically along the leading edge of an approaching disturbance or under the influence of a monsoonal anticyclone. Upper-tropospheric dynamics are conducive to rising motion and vertical convective development. Mid- and upper-tropospheric conditions therefore resemble those that produce traditional dry thunderstorms. The specific quantity of mid-level moisture and instability required is shown to be strongly dependent on the surface elevation of the contributing fire. Increased thermal buoyancy from large and intense wildfires can serve as a potential trigger, implying that pyroCb occasionally develop in the absence of traditional meteorological triggering mechanisms. This conceptual model suggests that meteorological conditions favorable for pyroCb are observed regularly in western North America. PyroCb and ensuing stratospheric smoke injection are therefore likely to be significant and endemic features of summer climate. Results from this study provide a major step toward improved detection, monitoring, and prediction of pyroCb, which will ultimately enable improved understanding of this phenomenon?s role in the climate system.