Weather radar picks up ‘rain’ near Warner Robins, until it flies away
There is no question that the recent days of dismal weather in Middle Georgia have been, well, for the birds.
But on Tuesday morning, despite clear skies and sunshine, the weather really was ... birds.
The National Weather Service radar at Robins Air Force Base detected what appeared to be heavy rain or small hail near Bonaire.
But the seeming precipitation turned out to be biological, not meteorological.
As the weather service’s Peachtree City outpost noted in an exclamation mark-laden Facebook post: “This morning, near Warner Robins, a flock of birds took off that was so big & dense it registered up to 54 dBZ on the KJGX radar! ... It was so strong it tricked KJGX into rainfall accumulation mode!”
The post did not mention what kind of birds may have been involved, though some on social media have suggested geese or martins.
To paraphrase a meteorologist who was reached by phone: Sorry, the radar isn’t that good.
The Facebook message, however, went on to say “this phenomenon is pretty common around dawn on good weather days and usually looks more like a doughnut, known as ‘roost rings.’ They occur when the radar detects thousands of birds taking off from their roosting sites to forage for insects.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2021 at 12:16 PM.