Pachostormie -

So the next time you encounter a deep-sea creature, a strange weather pattern, or a chaotic Tuesday, whisper the word. You may not know exactly what it means. But somehow, impossibly, you will know exactly how it feels.

Why "Stormie"? When a school of these dragonfish ascends during the diel vertical migration (nighttime feeding), their movement is so frantic and dense that sonar readings on research vessels resemble a "subsurface storm." Marine biologists have unofficially dubbed these chaotic feeding frenzies pachostormie

These micro-storms, only 10–20 miles in diameter, pack wind speeds of a Category 1 hurricane but are so thick with condensed water vapor that they appear on radar as a solid, circular mass. Unlike traditional storms that spiral outward, a rotates like a spinning coin, remaining stationary for hours before collapsing inward. So the next time you encounter a deep-sea