Pine Gulch Fire Creates Its Own Lightning Show
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (CBS)- If you live in or near Grand Junction you may have been awakened in the middle of the night by thunderstorms produced in part by the Pine Gulch Fire burning north of the Grand Valley.
The trigger for the overnight lightning show began near the Wyoming border! Thunderstorms there produced an outflow boundary or gust front that pushed south across the Western Slope. This outflow produced pulsing wind gusts out of the north-northwest 25 to 35 mph over the fire area. This lifted what is called "Pyrocumulus" clouds from the fire down into Grand Junction.
According to the National Weather Service Office in the Grand Junction this process happened a few times and sent a heat burst into the area where the Grand Junction temperature rose from 78 to 90 degrees in a very short period of time.
This process produced more wind and lightning over the area for a few hours. It also, spread more ash over the Grand Junction area which the National Weather Service Office in the Grand Valley said is the worst it has been through the Pine Gulch Fire.
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