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blizzard warnings - 13:52 , 03 October 2013

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rushing into the waters - 09:53 , 21 June 2013

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15 April 2010 - 14:31

extraterrestrial visitor

We both heard it.

A heavy, solid "boom". But faint, like it was far away. The house shook, but like a single shudder, rather than a sonic boom, earthquake, or exploding train car (all of which we have felt from inside this house).

The wife thought it came from the refinery, to the east. I thought from the west. The railway yard?

I went outside and looked. Someone was doing the same on the porch two houses down, and from the rental across the street. But no flares from the refinery. No sirens. I walked to the corner and looked west. No suspicious glows there, either.

The wife is watching semi-anxiously from the front door. She's raced to pack suitcases for an evacuation before. I shrug, and look at my watch.

Nine-fifteen. Mountain time.

I hop in the truck, turn it on, and start switching the radio back and forth, checking the many emergency digital channels installed last month.

Nothing. No chatter.

I wish we could eavedrop on the Sheriff's, PD's and Patrol's channels these days, but that went away with the analog radio system.

I switch to the analog channels. Quiet. Back to the digitals. Still quiet.

And back to the house I went, figuring we'd hear about it in the news tomorrow.

Which is today.

And there it is. But not the local news like I expected. And not the news I expected, either:

"Soaring meteor lights up skies across the Midwest"

By DINESH RAMDE, Associated Press Writer Dinesh Ramde, Associated Press Writer 21 mins ago

MILWAUKEE � A large meteor streaked across the Midwestern sky momentarily turning night into day, rattling houses and causing trees and the ground to shake, authorities said Thursday. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Witnesses say the meteor lit up the sky Wednesday about 10:10 p.m. National Weather Service offices across the Midwest say it was visible from southwestern Wisconsin and northern Iowa to central Missouri.

Radar information suggests the meteor landed in the southwest corner of Wisconsin, either Grant or Lafayette counties, said Ashley Sears, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Milwaukee office. Officials in both counties said no one has reported seeing a meteor or crater.

Lafayette County Sheriff Scott Pedley said his office received multiple reports of a very bright light in the sky followed by houses and the ground shaking.

"There were reports of four to five minutes of explosions or rumbling," he said. He couldn't say what the sound was but speculated it may have been a sonic boom if the meteor broke the sound barrier.

Sean Thompson was watching television in his Iowa City, Iowa, apartment when a bright light caught his eye. He saw the meteor for about 10 seconds before it disappeared.

"It was somewhat alarming to me," Thompson said. "I've seen shooting stars, but I've never seen something jetting across the sky with flames shooting off it."

Forecasters say the meteor was part of a meteor shower called Gamma Virginids, which began April 4. The shower is expected to last through April 21, with Thursday set to be the second straight day of peak activity.

___

Associated Press Writer Molly Hottle in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

So.

We heard a friggin' meteor.

Cool.

I mean, really cool.

Ohh, Sis, if you read this in time, tell our brother to look west tonight around eight-fifteen.

He'll like the sight.

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