Texarkana falling fish story even more fantastic

This was one of the longer of dozens of fishes that fell from the sky Wednesday evening over Discount Wheel & Tire on Summerhill Road in Texarkana. The location was one of many places around town that experienced this rare occurrence. (Photo courtesy of Brad Taylor)
This was one of the longer of dozens of fishes that fell from the sky Wednesday evening over Discount Wheel & Tire on Summerhill Road in Texarkana. The location was one of many places around town that experienced this rare occurrence. (Photo courtesy of Brad Taylor)

TEXARKANA — The Texarkana Gazette received many more telephone calls Thursday from people reported they too had witness the strange fish fall over town during a rainstorm Wednesday.

As such, our newspaper offices here has became somewhat of a sounding board for the scope of this strange occurrence.

In Thursday’s edition (and at our website as it happened Wednesday), we reported four locations where fish were falling from the sky (or had fallen from the sky) in large and small numbers.

Based on calls Thursday, this was only a small sampling. Many hundreds of fish may have dropped on Texarkana — and the region — during the episode. There will be no way to ever know.

A lady called from 27th and Wood streets and said fish fell there. A few blocks away on Wood Street, a woman reported her son walked outside Thursday morning, turned around and walked back in and wondered why there were fish in the yard.

He was unaware of earlier reports.

The Gazette heard from a woman in Doodridge (30 miles to the south) who said fish had fallen there.

Wednesday we reported two specific businesses where fish peppered the parking lots: Discount Tire & Wheel and McLarty Ford. There were many more, according to social media and other reports, including another car dealership.

Albertson’s had fish on the pavement, according to a customer. She, and others as well, said when the fall first happened, they thought it was hailing because of the sound the fish made when they hit. But on closer inspection it wasn’t ice balls making all the racket, but silvery fish, identified by many as shad. (The species of fish has not been officially identified (who would make such a determination?) but several of the people Gazette reporters talked to looked to have fished a time or two, so we’ll take their words for it. (Now if a shark fell from the sky we might need to get an expert involved, or a scriptwriter.)

The phenomenon captured national attention with media outlets all over the country picking up the story from the Gazette and other Texarkana news outlets. Traffic at texarkanagazette.com was booming.

While such happenings are uncommon, experts say, they are not unheard of.

Still, it is unlikely any of us will experience another event like this this year.

Weathermen expect it to be sunny today, with no more fishies in the forecast.

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