What Does 'It's Raining Cats and Dogs' Mean

(CANVAS) - Saying it was raining cats and dogs this weekend could be a bit of an understatement.

Significant rainfall in the northeast led to power losses for thousands, flooding, road closings, record numbers of 911 calls and states of emergency being declared in New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

But saying that it's raining cats and dogs isn't always too far off – there have been occasions when people reported seeing animals of all types falling from the sky. Fact or fiction? You decide.

While the origin of the popular phrase is unknown, one of the more reasonable theories is that it came about in 17th or 18th century England, when the bodies of dead animals would be carried through the streets in times of heavy rain .

Non-aqueous rain has been recorded as early as the 1st century A.D. when the Roman Pliny the Elder wrote about fish and frogs raining down from the sky. The Bible also contains mention of a plague of frogs falling down upon the people of Egypt.

On Aug. 18, 2004, residents of the village of Knighton in Powys, Wales, reported fish falling from the sky. There have also been reports of it raining worms, eels and jellyfish-like creatures .

While meteorologists still do not have a verified explanation as to why this phenomenon occurs, they have several theories. One is that the animals are picked up by strong winds, such as those experienced in tornadoes and waterspouts, and are later dropped from the clouds after the storm has traveled some distance.

It has also been reported that it rained animals in June of 2009 when tadpoles fell from the sky in central Japan . Local meteorologists said no strong winds had been reported, and that the tadpoles fell over a 10-meter area , ruling out the theory that birds dropped the tadpoles from their mouths while flying, as the tadpoles would have covered more area.

The phenomena has also occurred as recently as last month when Australia saw rainfall of small white fish two days in a row on Feb. 25-26 in Lajamanu. While conditions would have allowed for a tornado, there were no reports of tornadoes having formed over a body of water. Australia also is said to have seen raining fish in 1974 and 2004.

Whether all or some of these events are true or not, maybe it's time to think twice about leaving the house without an umbrella.

Brittany Stoner is a sophomore at Penn State University studying Print Journalism and Spanish.