After a storm hit across the border in Arkansas and Texas, people in Texarkana were surprised with what they seen. A rare phenomenon where hundreds of small fishes littering the streets as it fell from the sky which could seem unbelievable.
The City of Texarkana explained on Wednesday that this 'animal rain' is indeed real and the reason behind it are waterspouts.
It can seem like it's raining fishes and frogs, but to make an actual sense to it, these small marine life including snakes and crabs are picked up by waterspouts from lakes and ocean, sweeping them up into the sky and dropping them below. The advisory described the waterspouts as "drafts that occur on the surface of the Earth" and added that the animals are later "rained down at the same time" as the raindrops.
A 'fishy' phenomenon
BRAMPTON BRYAN, ENGLAND - JULY 05: A young brown trout is pictured as staff from the Environment Agency attempt to rescue trapped fish from small ponds and pools along the dried up river bed of the River Teme, which is at unseasonably low levels due to the ongoing heatwave near Brampton Bryan on July 5, 2018 in Herefordshire, England. The recovered fish, mainly young salmon and trout, will be released back into the River Teme further downstream.
Fish rain could somewhat be normal in Texas during strong storms, however, the National Weather Service meteorologists reported that there were no evidence of waterspouts or severe flooding in Texarkana that could explain what happened on Wednesday.
Brandon Thorne, a meteorologist for NWS Shreveport, confirmed the occurrence of a line of thunderstorms moving through Texarkana on the afternoon that day, but added that no warnings were issued in connection to the storms. In addition, no data evidenced a waterspout in the area.
"As we looked at the storm and went back and looked at the data, we really didn't find anything would indicate that there was any kind of waterspout." Thorne said. "We're kind of confused as to how it happened as well, to be honest."
The weather service was not notified of any injuries in connection to people who were struck by fish falling from the sky, Thorne said.
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"Whatever goes up, must come down"
Residents are still confused as to where the fishes could have come from considering that Texarkana is "landlocked". One meteorologist suggested the "tornadic winds" could have carried them from as far away as Lake Texoma in Oklahoma - about a three-hour drive from the city.
"[The fish] are picked up with the wind and come down like any debris does. They could have been picked up somewhere like Lake Texoma. They could have come from anywhere. And whatever goes up, must come down," Gary Chatelain, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Shreveport, Louisiana, told The Texarkana Gazette.
Bregan Brown, a Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist, said that one or two animals falling from the sky are not uncommon, as birds sometimes prey on them and drop their kill. However, instances where a school of fish falls from the sky are quite rare and could be the first time that the event was recorded in the state.
"When you get a lot of animals falling from the sky amidst a weather event it can seem pretty scary, but it's not really anything to be concerned about," Brown said.
"2021 is pulling out all the tricks.." Texarkana city officials posted on Facebook.
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