Imagine a single thunderstorm cloud amidst clear blue skies. That’s exactly what can happen if you have an incredible heat source such as a volcano or wildfire, it can be so intense it can create its own weather.

Sometimes if you have a volcano or wildfire, a pyrocumulus cloud will form overhead. These are also known as flammagenitus or fire clouds. The intense heat source forces the air upwards, creating a cloud. Pyrocumulus clouds appear much darker than normal clouds because they are filled with smoke and ash.

There are times when the pyrocumulus cloud can grow so large that it will create its own lightning and even precipitation. We have seen in the past where wildfires that have produced their own pyrocumulus clouds have sparked new wildfires from the lightning strikes within the pyrocumulus clouds.

Weather in your inbox

Forecast Location

Sign Up

By signing up you agree to the Terms & Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe at any time.

This segment originally appeared in today's edition of the Morning Brief newsletter. Sign up here to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.

J​ennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.