The “shrimp of the sky” have finally done it. There are now enough cicadas flying around the Washington region to show up on weather radar:
THIS is not rain, not ground clutter (the radar beam picking up objects close the radar site –which is in Loudoun County)…. the Hydrometeor Classification algorithm identifies this as biological in nature..so likely CICADAS being picked up by the radar beam… pic.twitter.com/zTLCzynz5D
— Lauryn Ricketts (@laurynricketts) June 7, 2021
As meteorologist/chaos magnet Matthew Cappucci explains, radar sends out beams that bounce off stuff in the sky, usually precipitation. But around Washington, he says, “we’re seeing a lot more clutter than normal.” That “clutter” is showing up in shapes, which means “the objects are likely biological.” That’s happened before with butterflies, he says, which strongly suggests the radar is picking up the billions of cicadas currently careening into buildings, bouncing off highways, and laying eggs in trees.
@matthewcappucci #greenscreen EW! #Cicadas on WEATHER RADAR in #DC Washington. Yuck! #EW
On the plus side, cicadas live four to six weeks, so their time on your own radar won’t last too much longer.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
