TEXARKANA, Texas (KSLA) – Have you ever heard of animal rain? Well, the city of Texarkana just experienced it.
A thunderstorm that blew through parts of the ArkLaTex Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 29) left more than just water behind and gave some residents a once in a lifetime experience.
Security video at Discount Wheel and Tire in east Texas shows heavy rain coming down Wednesday afternoon, but to the surprise of many, more than water was falling from the sky.
A number of people report seeing fish all over the ground after they apparently fell from the sky during the rainstorm.
“It started hailing and it could have been the fish slapping the roof what we were hearing,” said one employee.
“I didn’t know what to say. I thought it was pretty cool. I started to get me a bucket and pick them up for fishing bait,” said Tim Brigham, a resident.
Employees at Discount Wheel and Tire went from installing tires to removing dead fish from the parking lot.
“You see them all laying out there; they shine,” said Jeanie Tucker, another resident.
Miles away on Magnolia Street, Tucker was outside Thursday morning checking for fallen fish in her yard and on the top of her house.
“I can’t believe it. I don’t know when it happened. I never seen it before. Something tore them all to pieces. There were just heads and bodies without heads,” said Tucker.
Believe it or not, animal rain happens when small animals like fish, frogs, snakes, and birds are swept up by waterspouts or updrafts.
Then, the creatures fall back to Earth as it rains.
Multiple instances of animal rain have been reported around the world.
Michael Berry with the National Weather Service in Shreveport says although rare, this type of event does happen.
“The only way I’m aware of that can produce these small fish falling from the sky with a thunderstorm would be some small waterspout having sucked the water and anything in the water up into the cloud base,” Berry said.
Berry says this was the first time he has seen it raining fish in the ArkLaTex.
See videos here: https://www.ksla.com/2021/12/30/fishy-day-fish-fall-sky-texarkana/
Well, at least it’s not raining cats and dogs…..yet.