People of Sai Nagar in Jagtial town of Telangana literally witnessed a rain of fish, a rare phenomenon.
Raining cats and dogs is an idiom we hear when there is a heavy downpour, an apparent allusion to when the pets would seek shelter in the rafters and fall when they lost balance. Well, it rained fish in Telangana. Literally!
This rare phenomenon was observed recently by the people of Sai Nagar in the Jagtial town of the state.
Residents of Jagtial town in #Telangana witnessed a rare weather phenomenon as fish ‘rain’ from the sky. The phenomenon, known as ‘animal rain’,
happens when small water animals such as frogs, crabs or small fish are swept into water spouts. #Telanganafloods pic.twitter.com/JN9P1fzG5C— Aashish (@KP_Aashish) July 10, 2022
WEIRD WEATHER: Fish rains down from clouds on Oroville elementary schoolhttps://t.co/cdvHiEQRYY pic.twitter.com/tkXXAVghe0
— Action News Now (@ActionNewsNow) May 18, 2017
The fishy phenomenon actually happened as strong thunderstorms moved through the East Texas city Wednesday afternoon.https://t.co/sKtXJf1MIp
— Chron (@chron) December 30, 2021
Telangana fish rain explained
This meteorological phenomenon happens when tiny water animals are carried up by waterspouts — whirling columns of air and water mist — and end up in clouds.
As a spinning column of air gains momentum during a tornado, the surrounding water is pulled into a spiral pattern.
Eventually, a ring of spraying water — called a cascade — forms around the base.
The characteristic funnel extending from the sky toward the water’s surface becomes visible and it starts to carry objects along with the water.
“During a tornado, the pressure at ground level becomes very low. When these sprouts are above any water body, animals in it get carried up along with the water to the level of the cloud,” Mahesh Palawat, vice-president of Meteorology and Climate Change at Skymet Weather, told South First.
“Wind may take the cloud many kilometres away. When it rains, these animals fall on the ground. This is also the case in Jagtial. This is a common phenomenon in the United States and European countries,” he added.
Apart from fish, small animals like crabs and frogs are also carried by waterspouts.
Previous incidents
While the fish rain happened in Telangana this time, the phenomenon itself has been observed around the world.
In 2009, tadpoles fell from the sky in many cities of Japan.
In 2017, students in California in the US were hit by raining fish while they were playing outside during recess.
In popular culture
In popular culture, many films have shown this phenomenon, to dramatic effect.
Magnolia(1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCJsZBK1JKE
Sharknado(2013-18)
Fargo(2014-20)