Albuquerque Grasshopper Swarms Are Showing Up On Weather Radar
According to The National Weather Service, the worst infestation of grasshoppers to hit Albuquerque in twenty years is so dense that it's showing up on weather radars like rain.
David Craft, a spokesperson for the NWS, told ABC News that the infestation had been showing up on their radars since Memorial Day. The swarm is being blamed on Albuquerque's recent drought.
John R. Garlisch, extension agent at Bernalillo County Cooperative Extension Service, explained the extent to which the insects were invading, and it sounds absolutely horrifying.
"It is a nuisance to people because they fly into people's faces while walking, running, and biking. They are hopping into people's homes and garages, they splatter the windshield and car grill while driving, and they will eat people's plants."
Due to a mild winter, grasshopper eggs didn't die, which caused the large number to flood the city in the summer. Spokespeople for the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, however, have put the power of extermination in the people's hands, determining it to be a homeowner and not a statewide concern.
Garlisch wisely noted, "Wait it out . . . As with everything this too shall pass."
