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Trout Fire in New Mexico produces a pyrocumulonimbus cloud

By Scott Bachmeier •

5-minute CONUS sector GOES-19 (GOES-East) “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images and “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images with an overlay of the FDCA Fire Mask derived product (above) showed that the Trout Fire in southwest New Mexico produced a pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud late in the day on 14 June 2025. The pyroCb cloud... Read More

5-minute GOES-19 Red Visible (0.64 µm) images with an overlay of the Fire Mask derived product (left) and Clean Infrared Window (10.3 µm, right) images, from 1606 UTC on 14 June to 0201 UTC on 15 June [click to play MP4 animation]

5-minute CONUS sector GOES-19 (GOES-East) “Clean” Infrared Window (10.3 µm) images and “Red” Visible (0.64 µm) images with an overlay of the FDCA Fire Mask derived product (above) showed that the Trout Fire in southwest New Mexico produced a pyrocumulonimbus (pyroCb) cloud late in the day on 14 June 2025. The pyroCb cloud exhibited cloud-top 10.3 µm infrared brightness temperatures (IRBTs) in the -40s C (denoted by shades of blue to cyan) — a necessary condition to be classified as a pyroCb — beginning at 2236 UTC on 14 June. This was the first confirmed pyroCb in the US for the 2025 wildfire season.

The coldest pyroCb cloud-top IRBT was -44.71ºC at 0021 UTC on 15 June, with a corresponding Cloud Top Height derived product value of 37510.62 ft (below).

GOES-19 Clean Infrared Window (10.3 µm) image with a cursor sample of the coldest cloud-top infrared brightness temperature (white) along with the corresponding Cloud Top Height derived product (green) at 0021 UTC on 15 June [click to enlarge]

On rawinsonde data from El Paso, Texas (below) the air temperature of -44.71ºC occurred at an altitude around 11.0 km (36089.2 ft) — slightly above the surface-based air parcel Equilibrium Level (EL) — and somewhat lower than the 37510.62 ft value indicated by the GOES-19 Cloud Top Height derived product.

Plot of rawinsonde data from El Paso, Texas at 0000 UTC on 15 June [click to enlarge]

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GOES-19 Red Visible (0.64 µm) images + Fire Mask derived product (left) and Clean Infrared Window(10.3 µm, right) images, with an overlay of GOES-19 GLM Flash Extent Density (large light-purple pixels) and Flash Points (white dots) at 2311 and 2316 UTC on 14 June [click to enlarge]

There was a brief period of GLM-detected lightning activity associated with this pyroCb cloud, from both GOES-19/GOES-East (above) and GOES-18/GOES-West (below).

GOES-19/GOES-East Red Visible (0.64 µm) images + Fire Mask derived product (left) and Clean Infrared Window(10.3 µm, right) images, with an overlay of GOES-18/GOES-West GLM Flash Extent Density (large light-purple pixels) and Flash Points (white dots) at 2311, 2316 and 2326 UTC on 14 June [click to enlarge]

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5-minute GOES-19/GOES-East True Color RGB images, from 2101 UTC on 14 June to 0141 UTC on 15 June [click to play MP4 animation]

True Color RGB images from the CSPP GeoSphere site showed the development and growth of the pyroCb, as viewed from GOES-19/GOES-East (above) and GOES-18/GOES-West (below). Note how lower-altitude smoke was gradually moving southward away from the Trout Fire location — some of this smoke later reduced the surface visibility to 5 miles at the Silver City/Grant County Airport (KSVC) after 1500 UTC on 15 June.

10-minute GOES-18/GOES-West True Color RGB images, from 2100 UTC on 14 June to 0130 UTC on 15 June [click to play MP4 animation]

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As the Trout Fire continued to burn into the subsequent nighttime hours, its bright glow in northeastern Grant County was very apparent in a NOAA-20 VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) image valid at 0847 UTC or 2:47 AM MST (below).

NOAA-20 (mislabeled as NPP) VIIRS Day/Night Band (0.7 µm) image valid at 0847 UTC on 15 June [click to enlarge]

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Blowing dust in Argentina

By Scott Bachmeier •

10-minute Full Disk scan GOES-19 (GOES-East) True Color RGB images along with the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) derived product from the CSPP GeoSphere site (above) displayed a plume of blowing dust — which was originating from salt flats along the northern edge of Laguna Mar Chiquita in northern Argentina — being transported south-southwestward on 12... Read More

10-minute GOES-19 True Color RGB images (left) and Aerosol Optical Depth derived product (right), from 1500-2000 UTC on 12 June [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

10-minute Full Disk scan GOES-19 (GOES-East) True Color RGB images along with the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) derived product from the CSPP GeoSphere site (above) displayed a plume of blowing dust — which was originating from salt flats along the northern edge of Laguna Mar Chiquita in northern Argentina — being transported south-southwestward on 12 June 2025. AOD values associated with this dust plume were as high as 1.0 (darker red enhancement).

GOES-19 Aerosol Optical Depth images that included plots of surface reports (below) showed that northeast winds at Cordoba (the METAR site just west of the blowing dust plume) were gusting to 27 knots (31 mph) at 1800 UTC.

10-minute GOES-19 Aerosol Optical Depth derived product with plots of METAR surface reports (cyan), from 1600-2000 UTC on 12 June [click to play MP4 animation]

The GOES-19 Dust Detection derived product (below) also flagged this blowing dust feature.

10-minute GOES-19 Dust Detection derived product with plots of METAR surface reports (cyan), from 1600-2000 UTC on 12 June [click to play MP4 animation]

The strong northeast surface winds responsible for this blowing dust were caused by the pressure gradient between high pressure centered off the east coast of South America and a trough of low pressure across western/central Argentina (below).

CHM surface analyses at 1200 UTC on 12 June and 0000 UTC on 13 June [click to enlarge]

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Canadian wildfire smoke over Alaska

By Scott Bachmeier •

10-minute Full Disk scan GOES-18 (GOES-West) True Color RGB and Near-Infrared “Cirrus” (1.37 µm) images from the CSPP GeoSphere site (above) showed a plume of Canadian wildfire smoke over parts of Alaska on 11 June 2025. This plume of smoke aloft was initially drifting westward across Yukon and Interior Alaska early in... Read More

10-minute GOES-18 True Color RGB images (top) and Near-Infrared “Cirrus” (1.37 µm) images (bottom), from 1200 UTC on 11 June to 0500 UTC on 12 June [click to play animated GIF | MP4]

10-minute Full Disk scan GOES-18 (GOES-West) True Color RGB and Near-Infrared “Cirrus” (1.37 µm) images from the CSPP GeoSphere site (above) showed a plume of Canadian wildfire smoke over parts of Alaska on 11 June 2025. This plume of smoke aloft was initially drifting westward across Yukon and Interior Alaska early in the day — then curved southward as it eventually wrapped around the circulation of a large low pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska later in the day. The 1.37 µm “Cirrus” spectral band is effective at detecting visible light scattered by airborne particles (such as cirrus cloud ice crystals, airborne dust or volcanic ash, and in this case, smoke — for example, see other cases in 2020 and 2017). Note that the ribbon of wildfire smoke was more apparent over the eastern Gulf of Alaska in the 1.37 µm imagery compared to the True Color RGB imagery (due to bright lower-altitude clouds masking the hazy appearance of the smoke) — especially toward the end of the time period, when the leading edge of the ribbon of smoke began to move over the Alaska Panhandle (0400 UTC image comparison).

GOES-18 Visible images with plots of Ceiling/Visibility (below) confirmed that this smoke remained aloft, with no restriction of surface visibility at any of the sites beneath the plume (visibility in miles is the bottom number, just below the circles listing cloud ceiling values at each site).

10-minute GOES-18 Red Visible (0.64 µm) images with hourly plots Ceiling/Visibility (cyan), from 0900 UTC on 11 June to 0400 UTC on 12 June [click to play MP4 animation]

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Barbara and Cosme in the eastern Pacific Ocean

By Scott Lindstrom •

GOES-West true color imagery, above, from the CSPP Geosphere site (link), shows Hurricane Barbara northeast of Tropical Storm Cosme in the eastern Pacific. Active convection is apparent over both storm centers during the course of the day. What does the future hold for these storms? MIMIC Total Precipitable Water (source),... Read More

GOES-West True Color imagery, 1510 – 2350 UTC on 9 June

GOES-West true color imagery, above, from the CSPP Geosphere site (link), shows Hurricane Barbara northeast of Tropical Storm Cosme in the eastern Pacific. Active convection is apparent over both storm centers during the course of the day. What does the future hold for these storms? MIMIC Total Precipitable Water (source), below, shows the storms within a band of rich moisture, but forecasts paths for both are towards the north and drier air.

MIMIC Total Precipitable Water, 0000 -2300 UTC on 9 June 2025 (Click to enlarge)

The predicted path of the storms is over much colder water. Do not expect to hear much about these storms by the end of the week!

SST Analyses and predicted paths (from 1800 UTC 9 June 2025) for Barbara and Cosme. Click to enlarge)

Both storms are within a band of relatively low shear as shown below. It is increasingly cool SSTs along the storm paths, and an increasingly dry atmosphere, that will be controlling the intensity of these storms in the near future.

East Pacific Ocean basin shear analysis (850-200 mb), 2100 UTC on 9 June 2025 (click to enlarge)

HYSAT and OCEANSAT scatterometers both sampled both storms on 9 June, as shown in the toggle below. HYSAT overflew the storms at 1358 UTC and OCEANSAT overflew at 2014 UTC. Both show the cyclonic circulation centers. Barbara’s center is moving northwest whereas Cosme’s is moving west-northwest.

HYSAT (1358 UTC) and OCEANSAT (2014 UTC) scatterometry on 9 June 2025 (Click to enlarge)

For more information on these storms, refer to the National Hurricane Center. In addition, the SSEC/CIMSS Tropical Weather site has dedicated pages for both Barbara and Cosme.

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