The end of June saw some perfect conditions for cutting grass for hay. The ritual mowing led to some bizarre "weather" events in the UK where large clumps of dry grass began falling from the sky.
The phenomenon was reported in parts of Gloucestershire, Devon, Wiltshire, Mid Wales and Lancashire, leaving residents to sweep up the hay. Weather experts said the event occurred due to rising hot air and warm plumes of cloud-free air.
Helen Chivers of the Met Office said: " This grass has been lifted into the air by some means, possibly convection - where the ground heats the air above it causing the air to rise and carrying the grass aloft - and then it is carried along by warm thermals.
A Thermal is a warm air bubble or plume of cloud -free air that rises from the ground as the ground is heated and cools the higher it gets." She added: " Because the air eventually cools the thermal will break down and the grass will fall from the sky."
No such weirdness has yet been noted over Ireland, although swarms of flying ants lately have been making the news...!
