DUBUQUE IOWA --- Large chunks of ice, one of them reportedly about 50 pounds, fell from the sky Thursday in this northeast Iowa city, smashing through a woman's roof and tearing through nearby trees.Authorities are unsure of the ice's origin but have theorized the chunks either fell from an airplane or naturally accumulated high in the atmosphere -- both rare occurrences.
"It sounded like a bomb!" said 78-year-old Jan Kenkel, who was standing in her kitchen when an ice chunk crashed through her roof at about 5:30 a.m. "I jumped about a foot!"
She traced the damage to her television room, where she found a messy pile of insulation, bits of ceiling, splintered wood and about 50 pounds of solid ice the size of a basketball.
Elizabeth Cory, a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said investigators will contact Kenkel to try to determine the source of the ice.
Occasionally, aircraft latrines discharge contents at altitude, resulting in colored chunks of descending ice. Airplanes also sometimes accumulate ice on their edges in certain atmospheric conditions, including high altitude and extreme moisture.
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2007/07/27/news/breaking_news/doc46a9bef350079905013943.txt
1 comment:
The story of the Large Ice Chunks falling in Dubuque contained the following statement: Occasionally, aircraft latrines discharge contents at altitude, resulting in colored chunks of descending ice.
Now we know how the airlines feel about Mid America! "
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