Message #227296

[Avalon]

Raining Animals

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raining_animals


Raining animals is a rare meteorological phenomenon, although occurrences have been reported from many countries throughout history.

One hypothesis that has been offered to explain this phenomenon is that strong winds travelling over water sometimes pick up creatures such as fish or frogs, and carry them for up to several miles.

More recently, a scientific explanation for the phenomenon has been developed that involves waterspouts.

Waterspouts are capable of capturing objects and animals and lifting them into the air. Under this theory, waterspouts or tornados transport animals to relatively high altitudes, carrying them over large distances.

The winds are capable of carrying the animals over a relatively wide area and allow them to fall in a concentrated fashion in a localized area. More specifically, some tornadoes can completely suck up a pond, letting the water and animals fall some distance away in the form of a rain of animals.

This hypothesis appears supported by the type of animals in these rains: small and light, usually aquatic. It is also supported by the fact that the rain of animals is often preceded by a storm.