It's So Hot In The UK It's Raining Grass - Sort Of

'It's so hot it's raining grass' isn't really a sentence that you hear very often, but this is what is happening in the UK currently...kind of.

You probably have a few questions. First of all, you're probably wondering when grass rain became an indicator of high temperature. So hot you can fry an egg on a car bonnet/can't peel your sack off your thigh are both well-known gauges, but grass rain?

More to the point, you're probably wondering how on earth grass rain can be a thing.

Tanya Rendall, observed the bizarre phenomenon in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, UK, on her way to work.

The 46-year-old pet sitter said her first experience of grass rain was 'so calm and gentle'.

She 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 before.

"It was really bizarre. 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."

SWNS

Basically then it's green snow, which unlike yellow snow, sounds quite pleasant; unless of course you have hay fever, in which case it sounds completely hellish and cruel.

So - what the flip is going on?

Pollen-fearing people will be delighted to hear that grass clouds are not forming and grass rain isn't really a thing. The reality is, people are mowing lawns and fields because the weather is nice. The sun is also heating the ground, which causes air to rise and viola - freshly cut clumps of grass float about in the sky and fall on your head.

Gregory Dewhurst, a Met Office forecaster, said: "We can confirm this occurred from strong thermals in the local area.

"Thermals occur from the strong summer sunshine heating the ground and then in turn this heats the air above it and it rises.

Pexels/Matthias Cooper

"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."

So if you find yourself caught in a grassy downpour, don't panic... Unless you have hay fever, in which case you should run for your life.

Topics: Weather, uk news, Weird

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey