Midwest Meteor Lights Up the Night Sky

First posted on 04-15-2010

This video is from an Iowa sheriff deputy’s “dash cam.” It picks up the action over eastern Iowa last night. According to Chicago station WGN-TV, “residents in Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, even Illinois reported seeing a meteor or a large fireball traverse the sky shortly after 10 p.m.” The video repeats once.

The National Weather Service in Iowa issued this statement:

“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.”

A webcam situated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison also captured the meteor explosion. A screen capture from that video follows the dash cam below.