Saturday, May 7, 2022, 4:47 p.m. – A wildfire raging near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, caused several severe thunderstorms that caused hail and water jets right in the sea.
Thunderstorms often cause forest fires, but not every day you see forest fires cause a thunderstorm.
The heat of a fire in southeastern Florida on Saturday sparked a series of strong thunderstorms right in the sea, prompting the U.S. National Weather Service to issue special marine warnings for boats in the area.
Weather forecasters have warned that thunderstorms could lead to water jets, gusts of wind and light hail.
Meteorological radar images on Saturday afternoon showed constant smoke from forest fires rising from the eastern Everglades. Westerly winds carried smoke and hot air into the sea over the Atlantic Ocean, where instability caused many strong to severe thunderstorms.
A large forest fire west of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is causing strong thunderstorms right in the sea. NWS warns that storms could have water jets, gusts of wind and light hail. It is not uncommon for the intense heat of a forest fire to cause thunderstorms if conditions are favorable. pic.twitter.com/jUeONppDq2
A large forest fire west of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is causing strong thunderstorms right in the sea. NWS warns that storms could have water jets, gusts of wind and light hail.
It is not uncommon for the intense heat of a forest fire to cause thunderstorms if conditions are favorable. Dennis Mercero on Twitter: “A large forest fire west of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is causing severe thunderstorms near the coast. NWS warns that storms can have water jets, gusty winds and light hail. It is not uncommon for the intense heat of a forest fire to cause thunderstorms if conditions are favorable. pic.twitter.com/jUeONppDq2 / Twitter “
– Dennis Mersereau (@wxdam) Dennis Mersereau on Twitter: “A large forest fire west of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is causing severe thunderstorms near the coast. NWS warns that storms could have water jets, gusts of wind and light hail. It is not uncommon for intense heat from a forest fire to cause thunderstorms if conditions are favorable. pic.twitter.com/jUeONppDq2 / Twitter ”
Dry conditions and the continuing drought in South Florida have led to favorable conditions for numerous wildfires this week.
Broward and Palm Beach counties have reported three major wildfires in the eastern Everglades. Taken together, the fires have engulfed nearly 10,000 hectares of land, and government officials say the fires have been contained by about 50 percent.
Strong forest fires often produce pyrocumulus-rain clouds under the wind from the most intense flames. It is not uncommon for these rising ups to turn into full-fledged thunderstorms, especially when conditions are slightly favorable for convection in the area.
A large forest fire in Texas Panhandle in May 2018 caused a strong thunderstorm, which continued to cause heavy hail and destructive winds several tens of kilometers.
Thunderstorms caused by fire do not always lead to rainfall. Lightning strikes from these dry thunderstorms could continue to cause more wildfires – a situation we saw with the 2016 fires at Fort McMurray, Alberta, as well as the devastating wildfires in British Columbia last summer.
Miniature courtesy of NOAA
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