Weather radar catches bats blown away by thunderstorm

May 21 (UPI) -- A Texas meteorologist shared weather radar footage showing a large swarm of bats being dispersed by gusts from a thunderstorm.

Chris Suchan, meteorologist for WOAI-TV, said a swarm of bats large enough to be picked up by weather radar emerged from Frio Bat Cave in Uvalde County on Wednesday night, and the radar footage shows the millions of Mexican free-tailed bats encountering a thunderstorm.

Suchan said the footage shows a gust front -- a powerful wind created by torrential rains pushing downdrafts outward -- colliding with the swarm of bats, dispersing the flying mammals.

"Dual-Pol radar works beautifully to distinguish these bats from rain when storms and the bats are on radar," Suchan said.

"[It's] easy to identify the ring signature, but on occasion, when they're starting to come out, it can look like a storm core until you see the ring show itself as they fan out."