"Rain Cloud" On Weather Radar Turns Out To Be A Ladybug Swarm
Language
Reading Level
Listen to Article
At about 9:00 p.m. on June 4th, 2019, Joe Dandrea, a meteorologist working the late shift at the National Weather Service (NWS) station just north of San Diego, CA, noticed what appeared to be a large rain cloud on the radar. However, upon peering closer, he realized the "cloud" comprised a huge mass of tiny, flying dots.
Curious to find out what had just crossed his screen, Dandrea contacted a weather spotter near Wrightwood, CA in the San Bernardino Mountains, where the massive blob appeared to be. Part of the NWS's SKYWARN volunteer program, spotters are trained to keep their communities safe by informing the agency of any local weather hazards, particularly severe storms. Dandrea's suspicions proved right. The "rain cloud" was a swarm of ladybirds flying in synch.
Though the bloom appeared to be a massive 80 miles by 80 miles on the radar, Dandrea believes the lady beetles were not flying in a concentrated mass that big. He suspects the ladybugs were spread throughout the sky, flying at altitudes of between 5,000 and 9,000 feet, with the most concentrated mass measuring just 10 miles wide. “I don’t think they’re dense like a cloud,” Dandrea told the Los Angeles Times. “The observer there said you could see little specks flying by.”
Given the distance, it was hard to determine what ladybird species was responsible for the phenomenon. One possibility is the adult convergent lady beetles that migrate from the Sierra Nevada mountains to Los Angeles County's San Fernando Valley every spring in search of aphids and to lay eggs. In early summer, once the food source declines, the hungry beetles leave in droves to higher elevations.
This is not the first time the powerful NWS radars have picked up non-weather targets. Past "angels," as the agency calls them, include migrating birds, road traffic, and even sunrises and sunsets, which according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "Show up on National Weather Service radar screens as a spike in the direction of the sun."
Resources: latimes.com, ABCnews.com
Get the Workbook for this article!
Workbook contains: Article, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking Questions, Vocabulary in Context (+ answers), Multiple Choice Quiz (+ answers), Parts of Speech Quiz (+ answers), Vocabulary Game (+ answers)Cite Article
Learn Keywords in this Article
383 Comments
authorofjounalsabout 5 yearscool- Zelleabout 5 yearsI would have never thought that lady bugs would show up on a radar as a rain cloud
- LG lego puppyabout 5 yearsI did not know that lady bugs could come in big swarms like that! >^-^<
- Cici Piazzaabout 5 yearsthis is cool and very interesting!
- Maddie Khayaliaabout 5 yearsThat is crazy 😜
eh5over 5 yearshey im Singing raining tacos from out of the sky while watcing its soo cool
thorboy11about 5 yearslove that song
ap5over 5 yearsI really like this story i think its super fun and interesting!!!
se5over 5 yearsThis is interesting
ac5over 5 yearsHow do the ladybugs have the type of body heat to be picked up by the weather radar,their supposed to be non-weather targets,it's just crazy.- Mehover 5 yearsInteresting
