October 23, 1947 - Fish fall from the sky

Randi MannDigital Reporter

On one foggy day in October, thousands of fish rained on a town in Louisiana.

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We're sure it's safe to say that on October 23, 1947, the forecast was incorrect for Marksville, Louisianna. It was a foggy but not particularly windy day. Then it started to rain fish.

Perhaps a jambalaya-lover crossed paths with a genie, but falling fish have a more realistic meteorological explanation.

The reason for this phenomenon is waterspouts. Waterspouts are cyclones that happen over a body of water. Sometimes, twisters pick up more than just water or houses that land on witches. Sometimes they pick up fish.

Once a waterspout picks up a bunch of water and fish, it brings it into the air and heads ashore. Once the cyclone loses its steam, the contents of the storm drop, and it rains fish.

The October 23rd event was even more unique because it didn't come with the usual violent thunderstorms, it was just a calm day.

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To learn more about this seemingly comical event, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History".

"This Day In Weather History” is a daily podcast by The Weather Network that features unique and informative stories from host Chris Mei.