See it: Fire whirl spins through burning Iowa field sparked by severe storm's lightning
Strong thunderstorms in Iowa and Nebraska on Thursday night caused several lightning strikes in the area, one of which started the fire seen in the video, said FOX Weather Meteorologist Jane Minar.
Watch: 'Firenado' burns through field in Western Iowa
Video captured Thursday showed the fire whirl whipping through a field outside Salix, Iowa.
SALIX, Iowa – A fire whirl, otherwise known as a ‘firenado’ was caught on camera in Iowa after severe weather blew through on Thursday night.
Aerial video showed the fire whirl spinning up from a line of fire that was scorching through a field outside Silax, near the Iowa/Nebraska border.
Fire whirls are spinning columns of hot air and gases that rise up from a fire, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. When the gases and hot air rise, they also carry up debris, smoke and sometimes fire, creating a vortex.
Tornadoes and strong hail pelted Iowa and Nebraska during strong thunderstorms on Thursday night caused several lightning strikes in the area, one of which started the fire seen in the video, said FOX Weather Meteorologist Jane Minar.
In the video, bright red columns of swirling fire shoot up from the line of fire burning the field.
LARGE TORNADO SPOTTED IN SOUTHWEST IOWA
Fire while whips through burning field in Iowa on April 17, 2025.
(Dan Gottschalk / FOX Weather)
Behind the line of fire, the scorched earth of the field is black, creating a stark contrast between the blue sky, black smoke and orangeish-red flames.
Fire whirls can vary in size, with some being over 500 feet wide, according to the NWCG, and some smaller, like the one in the video.
The fire seems to stretch on for quite a while in the video, as the fire whirl travels through it. You can see the flames being sucked into the vortex of the whirl.
Fire is sucked into a fire whirl in a burning field in Iowa on April 17, 2025.
(Dan Gottschalk / FOX Weather)
Large 'firenadoes’ can be as strong as a small tornado, the NWCG reported.
Fire weather warnings were in effect for much of the area last week into this week, with the National Weather Service warning residents to listen to local fire instruction and limit burning.