"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
Next Atmospheric River to Bring Halloween Rain

Next Atmospheric River to Bring Halloween Rain

WEST - A series of atmospheric rivers has bee

30 Oct 2025 5:05 PM
Rain Headed for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast

Rain Headed for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast

An upper-level low has been traveling across

30 Oct 2025 5:00 PM
Catastrophic Melissa Makes Landfall in Jamaica, Cuba

Catastrophic Melissa Makes Landfall in Jamaica, Cuba

Melissa made landfall on Tuesday, October 28t

30 Oct 2025 4:55 PM
FORECAST: Halloween Night Shaping Up Okay For Many

FORECAST: Halloween Night Shaping Up Okay For Many

I will never forget the time it snowed in sou

30 Oct 2025 1:30 AM
Strong Winds, Temperature Changes, and Severe Storms

Strong Winds, Temperature Changes, and Severe Storms

Monday in Texas brought us record-breaking he

29 Oct 2025 10:00 PM
Santa Ana Setup Bringing the Heat into Southern California

Santa Ana Setup Bringing the Heat into Southern California

LOS ANGELES - On Tuesday, temperatures in LA

29 Oct 2025 8:45 PM
Flash Flood Emergency Triggered Sunday in Florida

Flash Flood Emergency Triggered Sunday in Florida

Slow-moving train thunderstorms produced extr

28 Oct 2025 10:15 AM