PyroCb near Perth in Western Australia

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Himawari-8 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm, left) and Visible (0.64 µm, right) images [click to play animation]

A 2-panel comparison of Himawari-8 Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm) and Visible (0.64 µm) images (above) showed the “hot spot” (red pixels) associated with a large bush fire burning near Waroona (south of Perth) in Western Australia on 06 January 2016 (media report), along with smoke from the fire and the explosive development of a pyroCb cloud after about 0830 UTC. The variation in smoke transport was explained by the strong vertical wind shear profile seen on a plot of 12 UTC Perth rawinsonde data: easterly winds within the 800m-2000m layer were carrying smoke westward off the coast, while smoke transported to higher altitudes by the pyroCb cloud was drifting southeastward due to northwesterly flow aloft.

Himiwari-8 Infrared (10.4 µm) images (below) indicated that cloud-top IR brightness temperatures cooled to -40º C (bright green color enhancement) around 0830 UTC, eventually reaching a minimum of -56º C (darker orange color enhancement).

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Himawari-8 Infrared (10.4 µm) images [click to play animation]

During the nighttime hours following the initial  pyroCb development, the fire raced westward as revealed by the spreading out of the red pixels on Himawari-8 Shortwave IR (3.9 µm) images and the light gray to brighter white pixels on Near-IR (2.3 µm) images (below).

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Himawari-8 Shortwave IR (3.9 µm) images [click to play animation]

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Himawari-8 Near-IR (2.3 µm) images [click to play animation]

On 07 January, two additional pyroCb clouds were seen to develop from the Waroona fire: the first after about 03 UTC, and the second after about 06 UTC. In this case, the pyroCb cloud material was transported rapidly eastward, as seen in Himawari-8 Infrared (10.4 µm) images (below), due to an increase in westerly winds aloft as seen in a plot of 00 UTC Perth rawinsonde data.

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Himawari-8 Infrared (10.4 µm) images [click to play animation]

A comparison of Suomi NPP VIIRS true-color images from 06 January and 07 January (below) showed an increase the thickness and areal coverage of smoke aloft over the region. (Note: the actual overpass times of the Suomi NPP satellite were between 06 and 07 UTC, as seen here and here)

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Suomi NPP VIIRS true-color images from 06 January and 07 January [click image to enlarge]