What looked like rain showers popping up on radar Wednesday evening turned out to be something much more unusual \u2014 and pretty cool.<\/p>\n
Chief Meteorologist David Paul said radar briefly captured thousands of bats emerging from colonies across the Houston area just after sunset.<\/p>\n
The images showed small clusters that resembled light rain showers north of downtown Houston and near the intersection of Interstate 45 and Highway 90. But a closer look revealed the \u201cshowers\u201d were actually bats taking flight.<\/p>\n
One of the most notable spots was near the Waugh Drive Bridge over Buffalo Bayou, home to one of Houston\u2019s largest bat colonies. The colony can peak at around 300,000 bats during the summer months.<\/p>\n
Just after 8 p.m., the bats began emerging from beneath the bridge, flying northeast in search of insects. Because they reached just the right altitude, the radar beam was able to detect them, creating the appearance of a sudden burst of precipitation on the radar.<\/p>\n
A second cluster was spotted near the interchange of Interstate 45 and U.S. Route 90, where another bat colony is believed to live within the bridge structures. Like the downtown colony, those bats also took off at sunset, producing a similar radar signature.<\/p>\n
The phenomenon wasn\u2019t limited to Houston. Radar also picked up activity near San Antonio, where a massive bat colony \u2014 known for having millions of bats \u2014 emerged at nearly the same time.<\/p>\n
Bats typically leave their roosts at dusk to feed, consuming large amounts of insects each night. In fact, colonies can eat millions of pounds of insects, making them an important part of the ecosystem.<\/p>\n