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I’m thinking these are the kind of “records” that any self-respecting nation, would try like hell to avoid. Apparently this is what Making America Great Again ultimately means ...
Deadly California blaze spawned destructive fire tornado
by Paul Elias, AP — Aug 3, 2018
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A deadly Northern California wildfire burned so hot in dry and windy conditions that it birthed a record-breaking tornado of flame, officials said Friday.
They also warned of worsening conditions throughout the region.
Winds in the “fire whirl” created July 26 near Redding reached speeds of 143 mph (230 kph), a speed that rivaled some of the most destructive Midwest tornados, National Weather Service meteorologist Duane Dykema said. The whirl uprooted trees and tore roofs from homes, Dykema said.
The whirl measured a 3 on the five-level Enhanced Fujita scale, which scientists use to classify the strength of tornados, he said. California has not recorded a tornado of that strength since 1978.
[...]
Lion, and Tigers, and Fire Tornadoes — oh my!
What sick director, dreamt up this horrific B-Movie plot-line?
What, wait, it’s not a movie — but it is real life?
143-mph 'fire tornado' that cut a path of destruction is an ominous sign of the future
[...]
This was not typical wildfire damage. Rather, it was strong evidence of a giant, powerful spinning vortex that accompanied the Carr fire on July 26. The tornado-like condition, lasting an hour and a half and fueled by extreme heat and intensely dry brush as California heats up to record levels, was captured in dramatic videos that have come to symbolize the destructive power of what is now California’s sixth-most destructive fire.
[...]
“It was definitely a massive one, and that just speaks to how intense the heating was,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Kochasic. “It created such a massive whirl that it looked like a tornado … and it takes an impressive amount of heating and local wind swirling up to create something like that. It was quite a monster.”
It’s possible for fire vortexes to “move fairly quick out in front of the main line of the fire — it can spread a little bit quicker compared to the main fire,” Kochasic said.
Wind damage was also reported in areas untouched by flames.
Here is the LA Times again. This time more firmly linking this year’s early and intense Fire Season in California, directly with the effects of Climate Change …
The common thread in California's wildfires: heat like the state has never seen
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Swain said California is seeing more fires spreading much faster than what was customary. “It’s just that much easier for fires to escape initial control,” he said.
According to Swain, an ominous warning sign before each of the major fires of the last year — including last fall’s catastrophic Santa Rosa blaze — was alerts about record or near-record dryness in the vegetation.
The effect of temperature — and how dry the vegetation is — can matter more than how much rain or snow fell the previous winter.
Northern California saw its wettest winter on record in 2016-17, followed by its warmest summer. That led to extremely dry vegetation by the fall — just before the devastating Santa Rosa fire hit, Swain said.
“Temperature can clearly out-influence the precipitation,” he said.
Say Hellooo! to the new Unreal-normal, people …
Courtesy of Oil Industry Lobbyists and their Think-tanks, and the influential Climate-Change Denial cottage-industry, that they keep well-funded. Together they keep Climate Skepticism alive and well, in our well-baked nation.
Damn the Fire Tornadoes! … should be their battle-cry motto.
If only these Firestorms would just seek out the homes of the skeptics, who have recklessly fueled their on-going up-tick, year after baking year.
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PS. My heart and mind breaks for the victims of these horrific fires. May they avoid homelessness, and recover quickly, as Mother Nature continues to send out its new “smoke signals”.