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See 'firenado' swirl in central Portugal amid wildfire


Leeanna McLean
Digital Reporter

Saturday, October 21, 2017, 12:18 PM - A massive firenado was caught on camera swirling above a wildfire in central Portugal.

The blaze started on Oct. 6 near Pampilhosa da Serra and eventually reached the city of Arganil, where 50 people were evacuated last week. Officials say residents have been able to return home.

Be in the know about wildfire danger with the latest FOREST FIRE WATCH map.

Some 600 firefighters worked to contain the blaze using 180 vehicles and aircraft, according to a local civil agency website.

Also known as a "fire whirl," they form as the result of hot, dry air rising quickly from the ground. Footage of the firenado can be seen below.

"Although the source of energy for a fire whirl is very different than for a tornado - the tornado gets it from storm cloud above, while the fire whirl's energy comes from the fire below - they form in roughly the same way," says The Weather Network meteorologist Scott Sutherland.

"The atmosphere naturally sets up rolling 'tubes' of air above the ground, as friction slows down the winds closest to the ground, which then introduces a drag on the winds above, pulling them down slightly, and this cascades upward. When these kinds of tubes encounter a powerful updraft, like the ones flowing into the bottom of a thunderstorm or the ones created by the heated air from a roaring fire, the tube turns from horizontal to vertical and the updraft causes it to rotate faster and tighten up into these powerful spinning vortexes."

According to Sutherland, fire whirls can be smaller in nature but they can also strengthen to an EF2 or EF3 tornado.

They tend to last for only a few moments, which is why they are rarely caught on camera.

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