Traditionally, the evolution and rise of the dust and soot cloud resulting from high explosive detonations has been divided into two stages, with specific models used for each stage. In this study, based on the assumption that cloud formation progresses smoothly from stage to stage, a simple cloud rise model has been developed based on three sets of field tests of high explosive detonations ( 25 X 10(-3) to 4.5 kg of detasheet and C-4). This model provides a good fit to observations and measurements of clouds from detonations both at ground level and 1 m above the ground. It was also found that the detonation height has a noticeable influence on cloud rise before reaching its effective height, but the influence is minor on the subsequent cloud rise.