"Firenado" in California Last Week Produced 140 mph Winds

news image
Special Stories
2 Aug 2018 11:02 PM
The fire whirl in California Thursday, July 26 has been compared to an EF-3 tornado! https://twitter.com/NWSSacramento/status/1025125984465498112 During the evening of Thursday, July 26 the Carr Fire spread uncontrollably and erratically in Shasta County, California near Redding. A "fire whirl" developed where intense heat from wildfires swirls up whipping winds that looks much like a tornado. The whirl during that Thursday evening had estimated winds of 143 miles per hour!  Compare that wind speed to a tornado and you'll enter the rating of an EF-3! There were reports of many trees uprooted and even the bark of trees being ripped off. Imagine all of this happening within an ongoing wildfire. For WeatherNation, Meteorologist Steve Glazier
All Weather News
More
Stormy Pattern Ahead for the Northern Plains

Stormy Pattern Ahead for the Northern Plains

NORTHERN PLAINS - Severe weather is in the fo

7 Jul 2026 1:20 AM
Flash Flood Threat Across the Northeast and New England

Flash Flood Threat Across the Northeast and New England

NEW JERSEY - Heavy rainfall rates of around 2

7 Jul 2026 1:05 AM
Massive Fires Burn in the Four Corners

Massive Fires Burn in the Four Corners

The Aspen Acres fire continues to burn in Sou

7 Jul 2026 1:00 AM
Warm Weather Returns Out West

Warm Weather Returns Out West

A ridge of high pressure is building in our w

7 Jul 2026 12:30 AM
Muggy and Stormy in the South

Muggy and Stormy in the South

SOUTHEAST - It's been muggy and stormy in the

5 Jul 2026 8:40 PM
Slow-Moving Front No Longer Expected to Develop Tropically, Monitoring Eastern Pacific

Slow-Moving Front No Longer Expected to Develop Tropically, Monitoring Eastern Pacific

Early in the season, we watch closer to the c

1 Jul 2026 12:15 AM
'MCS' Season Brings Severe and Flooding Threats Across the Southeast

'MCS' Season Brings Severe and Flooding Threats Across the Southeast

As Summer settles in across the Central U.S.,

28 Jun 2026 2:10 AM