3 weather events nearly as wild as Sharknado 4
To great social media fanfare, "Sharknado 4" will premier July 31, 2016 at 8:00 p.m. ET on the SyFy Channel.
While campy disaster films aren’t known for their scientific integrity, the Sharknado series makes some interesting inaccuracies.
But Sharknado fans who live in fear of a shark-filled tornado can rest easy. The idea is completely implausible.
However, weather has been known to cause several head-scratching events ranging from seemingly apocalyptic to downright bizarre.
Animals raining from the skyMany popular colloquiums suggest animals pouring from the sky – from cats and dogs all the way to men. But the likelihood of any of those events from happening is in the same realm of possibilities as a sharknado.
However, there have been at least four documented instances of frogs raining from the sky. The most recent occurrence was in 2005, in Odzaci, Serbia.
Whirling vortexes of fire
Firenadoes, also known as fire devils, are created when strong winds whip an active fire to create a vortex.
"The heat of the fire rising through the air allows the vortex to strengthen and create the firenado," AccuWeather Meteorologist Eric Leister said. "The firenado can then suck more brush and debris into itself and fuel the fire further."
This phenomenon can be extremely dangerous, with some reporting to be able to launch embers miles away.
Bugnadoes darken skies
Though not a weather event, when an ominous vortex of bugs appear to darken skies, the name seems only fitting.
In March of 2014, residents of Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal, witnessed a swarm of red locusts formed into a “bugnado."
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck said the tornadolike appearance was likely due to a combination of wind and thermal uplift from the sun creating warmth on the ground.
While the film’s star, Tara Reid, insists a sharknado could happen, the only real menace to society it presents are out-of-control hashtags.
However, fans of the film can watch out for many of the rare but conceivable weather phenomenon that happen around the world.
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