The Ice That Fell from a Clear Sky
Over ten days in January 2000, large blocks of ice fell out of a cloudless sky onto towns across Spain, smashing car roofs and cracking pavements.
What was reported
On 8 January 2000, a block of ice weighing a couple of kilograms crashed into the street in Tocina, near Seville, on a clear, sunny day. Over the next ten days, dozens more were reported around Spain, some weighing several kilograms, damaging cars and narrowly missing people.
They weren't hailstones: there were no storms, and some were far too big. Spanish scientists collected and studied the pieces.
Explanations offered
Some falls may have been ice from aircraft, or copycat hoaxes after the news spread. But some don't fit those explanations, and scientists have suggested they formed in unusual conditions high in the atmosphere. They're called megacryometeors, and they've been reported in other countries since.
- When
- January 2000
- Where
- Tocina, Seville, Spain
- Witnesses
- People in towns across Spain
- Status
- Partly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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