Unidentified “Meteorite” Falls From the Night Sky and Crashes in Texas


According to reports, a meteor streaked through the sky over South Texas on Wednesday night before crashing in an unidentified location.

Sheriff Eddie Guerra of Hidalgo County said that “claims from two aircrafts that they witnessed a meteorite west of McAllen” were received by Houston Air Traffic Control. Guerra stated that it was unclear exactly where the point of impact was. No injuries or property damage were reported, however, neighbors claimed that their homes “shook violently.”

Sydney Hernández, a local CBS anchor, reported that the Mission Police Department was “inundated with complaints from homeowners who heard and felt the boom,” but officials are still unsure of what to name the noise because it is unclear what caused it. The Geostationary Lightning Mapper, which measures lightning as observed from space, detected a signal at 5:23 p.m., the time the meteor was in the sky, but confirmed there “were no storms around,” according to the National Weather Service’s response to reports “of a possible meteorite” west of McAllen. However, there has been no formal confirmation of this signal as of yet. Over 100 calls were received during the explosion, according to Police Chief Cesar Torres, and hundreds more have been recorded in nearby communities.

Meteorites are only referred to as such when they collide with the earth; otherwise, they are referred to as meteors.