Cicadas could be cause of large mass on radar, NWS says

The National Weather Service says a "fuzziness" appearing on their radar could be caused by swarms of cicadas.

Cicadas Map 2021: Brood X emerges in DC, Maryland and Virginia

FOX 5 meteorologist Mike Thomas says the NWS's guess isn't inaccurate, but it's hard to say for certain what the mass is. He says it could be a number of different things with the high humidity in place in our area.

Thomas also says cicadas are not known to be far nor high flyers because their wings are too heavy compared to other insects. That's why when we see them fly, they tend to be all over the place in the air.


Overall, Thomas says he suspects the mass on the radar is a combination of humidity, pollen and some cicadas mixed in as well.