Massive fireball reported across Midwestern sky

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - It was Wednesday night (April 14, 2010), just a minute or two after 10:00 PM, when the "fireball" streaked across the sky. CNN missed on where the fireball was seen, when it said, "the fireball was seen across parts of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin." They neglected to include Iowa to the states where it was seen. Being that I live in Eastern Iowa, I felt I should mention that fact.

I had just arrived at work at 10:00 PM, so I was in the office when it happened. I missed it! But a few of the people coming into work DID get to see it. Several of the people said that they thought it was lightning, or heat lightning. However, not one of them heard what people in Southwest Wisconsin were saying sounded like a sonic boom.

Another part of the CNN report that I want to mention that is in error, is when CNN writes, "The fireball was visible for about 15 minutes beginning about 10 p.m., said the National Weather Service in Sullivan, Wisconsin"... I must say that is ridiculous! Actually, what was possibly seen for 15 minutes was the smoke trail on radar, as a meteorologist said on WMT Radio Thursday morning. Otherwise, it was a pretty quick event, like about two seconds when the fireball was seen.

The most ridiculous part of the story was where they wrote, "There has been no official determination as to what caused the fireball." Ummm, okay... Besides being a meteor, what else could it have been? A UFO? A sign from God? A chariot of the gods? Ouch... But, fortunately, in the full story, CNN goes on to explain that "there is a meteor shower called Gamma Virginids that occurs from April 4 to April 21, with peak activity expected on Wednesday and Thursday" and according to the National Weather Service, "A large meteorite could have caused the brilliant fireball." Duh.

Video from WISN showed a massive ball of light exploding across the sky. The Doppler Radar from the Quad Cities weather service appeared to capture a portion of the smoke trail from the fireball at just after 10 p.m., the NWS said. It appears as a thin line extending across portions of Grant and Iowa Counties in Wisconsin.

There has been no official determination as to what caused the fireball, the NWS in Sullivan said.

By the CNN Wire Staff

April 15, 2010 10:06 a.m. EDT

(CNN) -- Authorities in several Midwestern states were flooded Wednesday night with reports of a gigantic fireball lighting up the sky, the National Weather Service said.

The fireball was visible for about 15 minutes beginning about 10 p.m., said the National Weather Service in Sullivan, Wisconsin, just west of Milwaukee.

"The fireball was seen over the northern sky, moving from west to east," said the NWS in the Quad Cities area, which includes parts of Iowa and Illinois.

"Well before it reached the horizon, it broke up into smaller pieces and was lost from sight," the service said. "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," it said.

It said the fireball was seen across parts of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. CNN affiliate WISN-TV said that people in Ohio also saw it.

READ FULL STORY at CNN.com

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