Science & ClimatePhys.org•1 min read•10/14/2026 (3h ago)

Gathering rare airborne observations of firestorm clouds

Gathering rare airborne observations of firestorm clouds
60-Word AI Digest

Just minutes into a planned research flight from Colorado to Oregon in August to study massive storm clouds fueled by intense wildfires, scientists discovered that a fire in Utah offered a more promising target. The mission support staff on the ground scrambled to draw up a new flight plan, and the pilots of the U.S. National...

Key Takeaways

  • Just minutes into a planned research flight from Colorado to Oregon in August to study massive storm clouds fueled by intense wildfires, scientists discovered that a fire in Utah offered a more promising target.
  • The mission support staff on the ground scrambled to draw up a new flight plan, and the pilots of the U.S.
  • National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) Gulfstream V worked to get the green light from air traffic controllers to fly toward the wildfire-generated thunderstorm.

Just minutes into a planned research flight from Colorado to Oregon in August to study massive storm clouds fueled by intense wildfires, scientists discovered that a fire in Utah offered a more promising target. The mission support staff on the ground scrambled to draw up a new flight plan, and the pilots of the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) Gulfstream V worked to get the green light from air traffic controllers to fly toward the wildfire-generated thunderstorm.

Original Publisher Attribution

This summary was curated from Phys.org.

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Gathering rare airborne observations of firestorm clouds — Loop60