It’s so hot it’s raining GRASS! Sizzling heat scoops cut lawn into air to fall back to earth in bizarre phenomenon caught on camera by stunned mother
- Tanya Rendall, 46, watched as dry grass rained down from sky on Wednesday
- She filmed as neighbours gathered outside in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
- Experts say the phenomenon was caused by ‘strong thermals’ lifting the grass
Grass fell from the sky this week as temperatures of up to 82F (28C) caused the ground to heat up the air which then rose — taking a freshly mown field with it.
Tanya Rendall, 46, filmed the moment dry grass rained down on the houses in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, on Wednesday.
The mother-of-two says she saw ‘dark shades’ in the sky as the grass ‘gently’ fell down and her neighbours gathered to watch the ‘amazing phenomenon’.
Experts at the Met Office believe the grass was from a recently cut field and rose because the ground heated the air above it.
Clusters of dry grass falling from the sky in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, in a phenomenon caused by the warm weather
As the air rose the grass was carried with it in a phenomenon known as thermals. Experts said when the thermals moved it would have caused the grass to fall down.
Ms Rendall, a pet sitter who was leaving for work at the time, said: ‘You could see dark shades in the sky and then the grass fell down gently. It was very localised around the houses in our area — I’ve never seen anything like it.
‘It fell like snow — it was so calm and gentle, falling all around us. The grass was long and looked like it had come from a field. All the neighbours were out in the street having a look — it was an amazing phenomenon.’
As the air rose the grass was carried with it in a phenomenon known as thermals. Experts said when the thermals moved it would have caused the grass to fall down
Experts believe the grass is from a recently cut field and has risen because the ground has heated the air above it
Met Office forecaster Gregory Dewhurst said thermals are caused by the #strong summer sunshine heating the ground’.
He added: ‘Then in turn this heats the air above it and it rises.
‘We can only assume there was a recently cut field nearby and the strong thermals lifted the cut grass into the air.
‘When the thermals move on or decay then the grass then falls back down to Earth.
‘Glider pilots and certain types of birds use these thermals to move through the air but often go unnoticed by most people unless something like cut grass is seen within them.’