video taken by KTLA from the Palisades fires shows fire tornadoes or fire whirls forming. While they may look similar to a tornado associated with a thunderstorm, there is a key difference.
But Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA, told USA TODAY that it instead appears to be an example of a fire whirl, which is “more akin to a dust devil than a tornado” and is less severe.
Fire whirl, fire devil, fire tornado or even firenado — scientists, firefighters and regular folks use multiple terms to describe similar phenomena, and they don’t always agree on what’s what.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. A researcher describes the destructive power of the fires in Los Angeles, particularly the formation of fire ...
A look at fire tornadoes: What is a fire tornado? Fire whirl, fire devil, fire tornado or even firenado — scientists, firefighters and regular folks use multiple terms to describe similar phenom ...
A look at fire tornadoes: Fire whirl, fire devil, fire tornado or even firenado — scientists, firefighters and regular folks use multiple terms to describe similar phenomena, and they don’t al ...
The advisory, which runs into Wednesday, didn’t mention tornadoes, but meteorologist Todd Hall said they’re possible given the extreme conditions. Across the country from the California wildfires, ...
A Jan. 9 Threads post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be two tornadoes moving through a burning rural landscape. “Did you know that Cali gets fire tornadoes?!” the post reads.
The advisory, which runs into Wednesday, didn’t mention tornadoes, but meteorologist Todd Hall said they're possible given the extreme conditions. A look at fire tornados: Fire whirl ...