Frog Storm: The Strange Meteorological Phenomenon of Frogs Falling from the Sky

The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder described it in the first century A.D., and as recently as 2005, a similar event occurred in Serbia.

Reports of raining frogs—and occasionally other unexpected objects—seem to surface at least once a decade. Recently, the frequency of such events appears to be increasing, with Britain being notably susceptible. The cause of frog rain, though understood to some extent, remains a fascinating and somewhat mysterious natural occurrence. The memorable scene from the 1999 film "Magnolia," where frogs fall from the sky, surprisingly reflects real-life accounts of this phenomenon.

Understanding the Mechanism Behind Frog Rain

The most intriguing question about frog rain is how these amphibians end up in the sky. The explanation involves a combination of whirlwinds and lightweight creatures.

The Process:

1. Formation of Waterspouts: A small tornado forms over a body of water, known as a waterspout. These are usually triggered by high-pressure systems preceding severe thunderstorms.

2. Suction of Lightweight Objects: The center of a waterspout is a low-pressure tunnel surrounded by a high-pressure cone. This structure allows it to pick up lightweight objects in its path, such as frogs, fish, and other small aquatic animals.

3. Travel and Release: As the waterspout moves across the water, it carries these creatures within its vortex. When the storm hits land, it loses energy, and the pressure drops. Eventually, the waterspout dissipates, releasing its unusual cargo, which falls to the ground along with the rain.

The result is frog rain, sometimes involving a few dozen frogs, but occasionally hundreds or even thousands. Waterspouts can carry a variety of objects, not just frogs, leading to reports of raining fish, squid, worms, and even tomatoes.

Other Unusual Weather Phenomena

Reports of bizarre objects falling from the sky are numerous and varied. Fish are the most commonly reported creatures to rain down, given their lightweight and prevalence in water bodies. However, waterspouts can also lift heavier objects. Wind speeds in waterspouts can reach up to 200 mph, creating a powerful vacuum that can suck up items from as deep as 3 feet below the surface.

Some of the strangest reports include large water birds, and even a sailboat falling from the sky. On rare occasions, waterspouts hitting land have resulted in reports of raining tomatoes and coal.

When frogs and other water animals hit the ground, they often do not survive the journey due to the harsh conditions within the vortex and the impact of the fall. However, there are exceptions. For instance, in Serbia in 2005, residents found their streets covered in live frogs attempting to hop back to water after a storm.