The east Texas city of Texarkana experienced a rare weather event to close out the year: It rained fish.
The incident, known as “animal rain”, occurred Wednesday in the city, where officials declared in a Facebook post that 2021 is “pulling out all the tricks … including rain fish.”
“And no, this is no joke,” the post continued.
The city asked residents who witnessed the strange phenomenon for photos of their fish – some provided them with notes of disbelief in a lengthy comment thread – and offered a quick primer on the strange phenomenon.
As explained in an article in the Library of Congress, scientists believe tornadic waterspouts or updrafts are responsible for the falls of fish and small animals that have been observed around the planet for centuries – but not entirely are not documented.
A tornado can descend toward the surface of the water, sucking objects and small animals into its vortex and raining them elsewhere. The air currents of a powerful thunderstorm may do something similar, another theory proposes.
Kansas City, Mo. In 1873, it rained frogs. In Japan, it rained tadpoles in 2009. In Australia, it was Spangled Perch in 2010.
In Texarkana, James Audirsch said he heard a rumble when he and his co-worker Brad Pratt opened the doors of a car dealership.
“It was raining heavily and a fish hit the ground,” Audisch told NBC’s KTAL. “I said, ‘It’s raining fish.’ Brad was like, ‘No, it’s not.’ I was like, ‘No, it really is.’ And the fish were falling here and there.”
The station reported that the young white bass, which appeared to be less than half a foot tall, could be seen scattered around the parking lot of the dealership.
