Weatherwatch: Raining fish

Hundreds of small fish reportedly rained down on a Sri Lankan village this week. Such stories are often written off as hoax, mistake or the result of seagulls regurgitating their prey en masse. But on 15 May, 1900, there were well-witnessed falls of fish in Providence, Rhode Island, with weather conditions which strongly suggest the source of the phenomenon.

The day started dry and blisteringly hot, with a record temperature of 34°C. At around four in the afternoon, a storm blew up. The sky darkened, and gale-force winds knocked down billboards. There was continuous lightning, rain and a heavy hailstorm – and two falls of fish.

Both falls were in the suburb of Olneyville. One comprised hundreds of pout (a relative of the cod) ten to fifteen centimetres long, the other was a mixture of pout and perch. In both cases the fish spiralled down from the sky. At least half a bucket of fish was collected, and more picked up as souvenirs. The catch was displayed at a local bar and in the newspaper office.

The hailstorm and strong winds indicate powerful convective updraughts driven by the high temperatures. These may have produced a mini-tornado, capable of picking up sea fish and dropping them a mile inland at Olneyville.

The unexplained fall may have influenced Providence author HP Lovecraft, then aged nine. Lovecraft was to become famous for 'weird tales,' some featuring the sudden appearance of such fishy horrors as scaly Dagon and tentacled Cthulhu.