It's Raining Fish!
by M.K. Terry
Weather can be very strange. In 1943, the temperature in Spearfish, South Dakota went from -4 degrees to 45 degrees in just two minutes. There have been cases of thunder during a snowstorm. Lightening has even been known to go up to the clouds rather than down to the ground. But have you ever heard of it raining fish?
Believe it or not, it has actually rained fish! Well, kind of . . . Reports of fish falling from the sky have been reported as long ago as 200 BC in ancient Greece. Fish fell from the sky near Thomasville, Alabama, in 1957. In 2012, fish fell from the sky in Sri Lanka. There has even been a report of falling crabs in Florida in 2013.
It cannot really rain fish or even crabs. However, fish can fall from the sky. Tornados that happen over water are called waterspouts. The spinning waterspout is kind of like a vacuum that sucks up water and anything that might be in the water. As the storm moves over land the waterspout falls apart. Anything the waterspout sucked up will fall from the sky, which is why people living near water might think it is raining fish.
Weather can cause some pretty strange things to happen, but it sure makes for interesting reading!
What are the two main ideas of this piece?
Weather can cause tornados over water.
Weather can sometimes be very unusual.
People can see strange things because of the weather.
People can sometimes hear thunder in snowstorms.
People who lived in ancient times saw weird weather.