Fire Tornadoes

When you picture a tornado, most of us imagine a whirling column of air poking down from the clouds. Air tornadoes are created when warm air on the ground rises, and cool air comes in from above at a perpendicular angle.  The hot air mixing with the cold air creates the rotation of a tornado. But not all tornadoes come from the sky.

Fire tornadoes are created when heated air from a fire rises and mixes with strong air currents (often whipping through the trees). This causes the air molecules to spin and shape the flame into the shape of a tornado. Firefighters are cautious of fire tornadoes because they can whip through the tops of trees catching other trees on fire. Watch the video for a cool demonstration on how fire tornadoes work.