In Texas, a 'Flash,' ' 'Windows Rattling,' an 'Earthquake Like Shake'

A meteorite slammed into the ground in South Texas on Wednesday, according to local and federal authorities, who are now searching for the space rock west of McAllen. The precise point of impact has yet to be determined, McAllen Sheriff Eddie Guerra says, per KXXV. No damage has yet been reported. The National Weather Service shared an image from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper showing what it described as "a flash in the atmosphere that was bright enough for our NOAA satellites to detect at or around 5:23pm," per KVEO.

Houston Air Traffic Control received two meteorite reports from aircraft. Law enforcement in cities including McAllen, Mission, and Alton said they also received reports from residents who heard the impact. "It was widespread. There are multiple cities receiving the same call," Alton Police Chief Jonathan Flores tells KVEO. A community Facebook page describes "reports of windows rattling, earthquake like shake, and claims people saw a meteor like object falling from the sky" in cities as far west as Pharr and north as Edinburg, per the San Antonio Express-News. (More meteorite stories.)