The New Jersey Worm Tornado Explained

According to LiveScience, worms tunnel to the surface after rainfall, so they don't drown. While worms are generally solitary creatures, they start herding when on the surface and communicate with each other to find safe ground to burrow under. Worms cluster together because, in order to communicate, they have to touch. The group of worms, then, influence where they migrate.

Most of the time, you're probably going to see small groups of earthworms hanging out together, though occasionally, you'll see some pretty weird clumps that can be disturbing. LiveScience pointed to a 2015 video posted by Texas Parks and Wildlife of a wriggling mass of worms as evidence of herding behavior. The cluster, or a worm blob, is more typical for worms species like the California blackworm. The blob is to protect them from drying out.

But a spiral is new to scientists, though they think it's just another form of herding behavior. Saad Bhamla, an assistant professor at Georgia Tech, told LiveScience that the tornado effect might have to do with changes in the soil's water and the shape of the ground. It's possible the sidewalk dips slightly. Worms follow the flow of water and that's why they seem to create a spiral around something. 

So, no, the worm tornado is not an omen of evil and they're not plotting to take over the world. And no, worms aren't preparing for the Worm Moon either.

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