Raining fish in Australia

Fish have reportedly rained from the sky in Australia's Northern Territory. The Northern Territory News has received numerous reports from readers in Lajamanu, Maningrida and Hermannsburg that fish have fallen in places some distance from rivers or creeks. Of course, fish falls were a favorite subject in the books of Charles Fort (1874-1932), "collector" of anomalous phenomena who greatly influenced my own appreciation for high weirdness. From the Northern Territory News:

Storms which rain fish may be being confused with fish swimming from creeks along flooded ground, a Territory expert said yesterday.

But he had no sooner finished giving his rational explanation than another Northern Territory News reader phoned in a story of raining fish - with no rivers or creeks in the area...

The phenomenon has been documented around the world and is believed to be cause by small twisters or waterspouts.

As they pass over water small fish can be sucked up into the clouds and kept there as the cloud moves over land.

Eventually they fall from the cloud to the ground, inevitably surprising any people who see them.

"Raining fish theories up the creek as reports flood in" (via Fortean Times, 'natch)

• [Anonymous]

  How exactly are the fish “kept in the cloud” until it moves over land? Anti-gravity clouds?

  • [ROSSINDETROIT]

    Objects picked up by waterspouts are kept aloft by the same forces that create grapefruit sized hail.

• [Anonymous]

  For an in depth look at this “phenomena” I suggest this episode of Skeptoid which is specifically about animals “raining” down. As Mr. Dunning says: “Hint: It’s not waterspouts”

  http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4170

• [DasBub]

  A fish story by someone named Pescovitz? Isn’t that like nepotism or something?

• [Anonymous]

  What amazes me is that all the fish manage to stay perfectly lined up, all diving headfirst.

• [Tort]

  In Australia particularly in the northern territory we have periods of the year where it is completely dry and then periods where there is an almost monsoon like wet season. There are some fish and frogs that live underground and come to the surface in the heavy rain. There have never been any pictures of the fish falling, there have never been any fish found on roofs and the fish are all intact none splattered like they would be from a large fall. You’ll notice a total lack of legitimate experts on fish in these reports. Boing Boing should have slightly higher standards than Australia’s worst tabloid rags.

• [Anonymous]

  Mul Krul. Mul Krul.

  Reads like a scene from “the Last Wave.”

• [Daddyology]

  And all this time I thought it was supposed to be raining men. I have some gay friends who will be so very upset at this news … ;-)

• [Nadreck]

  Some would see such events as miracles but I take the atheist’s position: there may be pike or mackerel up in the sky but there is no Cod.

• [Julian Bond]

  Clearly another attack by The Mad Fishmonger.

• [Anonymous]

  My dad was assigned to Thursday Island as his remote service posting when he was a young teacher. (link to Google Maps below). It’s a remote little island just off the northern most tip of Australia and is (or was) a predominantly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

  He’s a fairly straight-laced guy, my dad. Maths teacher, stock market analyst, golf player.

  But he still tells stories to this day about raining fish on Thursday Island. Usually still alive and the area was known for off-shore twisters.

  Make of my anecdotal evidence what you will.

  http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=thursday+island&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=62.771612,108.896484&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Thursday+Island+Queensland&ll=-10.595821,142.229004&spn=17.728084,27.224121&z=6

• [Anonymous]

  It’s worth noting that the Northern Territory News is frequently the butt of jokes on Australia’s “MediaWatch” program because of its tendency to report stories (especially on its front page) which are stretching the bounds of credibility. Sasquatches in the suburbs; panthers in the streets; giant crocodiles in public parks – their usual fare. So if one looks into this story, it might be revealed that the truth is somewhat less exciting, or the source was a drunken fisherman or the like.

• [Anonymous]

  Sorry guys, I live just outside of Hermannsburg, and this didn’t happen. It’s the NT News, on saturday they ran a page one story about a cat that thought it was a chicken. Check out where these locations are on google earth, Hermannsburg is literally 1000 miles from any major lakes or costal areas.

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    Hermannsburg is literally 1000 miles from any major lakes or costal areas.

    Perhaps they were sand trout, a gift from Shai-hulud.

• [Anonymous]

  My only concern here is….WHAT HAPPENS WHEN AN INNOCENT AIRCRAFT UNEXPECTEDLY FLIES THROUGH THIS CLOUD…..lol…just not believable enough!

• [Anonymous]

  “inevitably surprising any people who see them.”

  Hmmm… add: or are struck by them.