Rain began to fall, and the high school soccer team had to stop practicing. Employees at a nearby tire and wheel store thought they heard hail hitting a roof.
Residents soon discovered that this was not a normal rainstorm. Instead, fish were scattered across a large area of the town.
Tom Brigham, Discount Wheel & Tire manager, told The Texarkana Gazette that he saw fish fall from the sky on Wednesday during a thunderstorm.
He said, “It was hailing” and it looked like there would be a tornado. “And there were also fish falling.”
A total of 25-30 fish measuring six to seven inches in length littered the ground near the business. More were found on the adjacent property.
The air was saturated with fishy smells. An employee was dispatched to retrieve them in case anyone slipped on them.
Their heads were “bust open”, indicating they had fallen from high above. They were described by Mr Brigham as “bouncing off concrete” after they fell.
“I bought a bucket and started to pick them up as fishing bait.”
A similar scene was seen at a Ford dealership and at Tiger Stadium, where the soccer team practiced. One player was reported to have picked up a fish that he found near the sidelines.
Three fish were found to have fallen along Summerhill Road. However, there was an earlier report that fish had fallen across Arkansas from a residential area.
Some homeowners were initially confused, wondering if this was a joke. Others remembered hearing stories about fish and frogs being swept up by tornado winds or a waterspout, and then falling from the sky.
Although “animal rain”, is a rare occurrence, scientists have never officially recorded it.
Gary Chatelian, National Weather Service meteorologist, told the Gazette that they are picked up by the wind and fall like other debris. They could have been collected at Lake Texoma. They could have come from any place.”
He added: “And what goes up must also come down.”
The City of Texarkana’s official Facebook page stated that “2021 is pulling all the stops… including raining fish into Texarkana today.” This isn’t a joke.
Animal rain is the result of small water animals such as frogs and crabs being swept up in waterspouts. It continues, “They are then rained down simultaneously with the rain.”
It’s not common, but it does happen, as you can see in Texarkana today. Show us your fishy photos!
Residents obliged by reporting that there were dozens of fish left in their pockets throughout the city.
The Facebook post ended with the plea: “And please for the sake of all, let’s tiptoe in 2022 as quietly and quietly as we can.”
