Floods in Thailand, droughts in North America, and persistent rain in the UK – it seems that the climate is becoming more extreme. But no one can categorically explain this phenomenon. However, here are 6 of the weirdest weather phenomena that CAN be explained:
Raining animals – There have been numerous reports of small animals falling out of the sky, most commonly frogs and fish. The explanation for this is Watersprouts – whirlwinds of water sucking the animals up into the sky and then strong winds carrying them inland before dispersing them ground wards.
St. Elmos Fire – These can sometimes have the appearance of fire balls but are actually spheres of electrical discharge which occur during a thunderstorm. They have been known to rise up nearby objects such as the mast of a ship or a lightning rod.
Fire Devils – Whirlwinds which occur during a forest fire, fuel the flame whilst sucking it inwards creating a vertical column of fast moving spinning fire. These can have devastating effects. One was recently filmed in Australia.
Ice Bombs – We think of hail as being small granules of ice falling like water. But an ice bomb is a giant ball of ice falling from the sky, sometimes observed even when there are no clouds in sight. The largest recorded weighed in at 80 pounds.
Dust Storm – A giant sandstorm most common in arid regions. A storm will whip up loose dust, sand and debris creating a moving wall of sediment which precedes the storm cloud, measuring up to 100km wide and several km high. If the storm clouds eventually fall as rain the sand can mix with the precipitation to create mud storms.
