The fireball was seen streaking across the sky in Cleveland, Texas.
Screen grab from video taken by Jason Tye
A glowing comet illuminated the dark sky out of nowhere over several states, including Texas, in the early morning of July 14, several videos show.
The American Meteorological Society confirmed the fireball sighting and had 49 reports from witnesses from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, and Texas file in on their website.
“It was incredible, very large,” one witness reported. “It was still the size of a car when it went behind the trees.”
“The magnitude of what I saw had me bracing for a catastrophic event,” a witness in Louisiana said. “I was driving on a freeway when it happened and found myself looking for a mushroom cloud or Armageddon. It moved me so.”
“It was below the tree line and still on fire, It was at least 500 feet away from the highway,” another witness from Louisiana reported. “I’m sure it hit the ground. From that distance it appeared to be the size of . A basketball or bigger. Never seen anything like it.”
“There wasn’t an explosion that I am aware of but there was a flash, a flash that is a lot like fireworks going off that lights up everything for a brief moment,” someone wrote.
Multiple videos, including from doorbell cameras, have been posted so far.