Dear Tom,
Have fish ever fallen in rain?
Albert Motyka
Dear Albert,
Through the years, there have been hundreds of documented cases of strange objects falling from the sky, usually in association with thunderstorms that have produced tornadoes or waterspouts.
Objects reported to have fallen with rain include living creatures such as fish, frogs, earthworms, caterpillars, birds, snakes and snails.
Rain containing fish and frogs is the result of tornadoes or waterspouts passing over shallow ponds or rivers, sucking up the creatures and carrying them aloft into the parent thunderstorms from which they eventually fall back to earth when the funnel or thunderstorm updrafts weaken, sometimes many miles from where they first became airborne.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
