Large fireball in the Midwest

From various sources.

From the NWS in Milwaukee, video links and radar images follow.

MANY REPORTS OF A BRIGHT FIREBALL HAVE BEEN FLOODING COUNTY SHERIFF

DISPATCH CENTERS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF WISCONSIN THROUGH THE NIGHT.

THE FIREBALL WAS VISIBLE BETWEEN 10 PM AND 1015 PM CDT.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICES IN LA CROSSE…DAVENPORT AND DES

MOINES IOWA…AS WELL AS ST LOUIS AND KANSAS CITY MISSOURI HAVE

RECEIVED NUMEROUS REPORTS OF A FIREBALL FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT

OFFICIALS AND THE PUBLIC AROUND THE SAME TIME AS THE REPORTS IN

OUR COUNTY WARNING AREA.

WHILE NO OFFICIAL DETERMINATION HAS BEEN MADE OF WHAT CAUSED THE

FIREBALL…SPACE DEBRIS…METEOR ETC…THERE IS A METEOR SHOWER

CURRENTLY OCCURRING CALLED THE GAMMA VIRGINIDS. IT BEGAN APRIL 4TH

AND IS EXPECTED TO LAST THROUGH APRIL 21ST…WITH THE PEAK

ACTIVITY APRIL 14TH AND 15TH. A LARGE METEORITE COULD HAVE CAUSED

THE BRILLIANT FIREBALL THAT HAS BEEN REPORTED.

WE WILL PASS ALONG ANY FURTHER INFORMATION THAT BECOMES AVAILABLE.

Webcam video from UW-Madison AOS/SSEC:  http://www.aos.wisc.edu/fireball/2010_04_14_fireball_loop_1024x768_long.gif

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Fireball Wednesday Night 4/14

Just after 10 pm CDT Wednesday evening April 14th, a fireball or very bright meteor was observed streaking across the sky.  The fireball was seen over the northern sky, moving from west to east.   Well before it reached the horizon, it broke up into smaller pieces and was lost from sight.   The fireball was seen across Northern Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Southern Wisconsin.  Several reports of a prolonged sonic boom were received from areas north of Highway 20, along with shaking of homes, trees and various other objects including wind chimes.   As of late Wednesday evening, it is unknown whether any portion of this meteorite hit the ground.

The fireball was caught on a webcam from UW-Madison AOS/SSEC.

www.aos.wisc.edu/fireball/2010_04_14_fireball_loop_1024x768_long.gif

The fireball was also caught by a Howard County Iowa Sheriff’s Deputy.

http://addins.kwwl.com/blogs/weather/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/fireball-web.wmv

This video was provided by KWWL TV.

Also, the Doppler Radar from the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities appeared to capture a portion of the smoke trail from the fireball at 0302z (1002 PM CDT), as seen in the image below.  It appears as a thin line extending across portions of Grant and Iowa Counties in Wisconsin. This trail is positioned nearly 88 miles north-northeast of Davenport, Iowa at an elevation of just over 24,000 ft AGL.

click to enlarge