Posted: Sun, Nov 18, 2001, 2:46 PM ET (1946 GMT)
Observers across North America observed an outburst of meteors from the Leonid meteor shower early Sunday. Initial reports indicate that the shower's intensity increased dramatically around 6 am EST (1100 GMT), with some observers in the western continental US and Hawaii reporting rates of more than 1,000 meteors an hour, the level needed for a shower to be classified as a storm. At Mt. Lemmon, Arizona, observers reported a peak rate of 2,600 meteors an hour. Despite the intensity of the storm there have been no reports of spacecraft in orbit damaged or disabled by the shower. The peak is the first of two forecast for this year's shower: an even bigger storm is forecast for Australia and East Asia tonight.

Related Links:

•  SPACE.com article
•  AP article
•  Leonid information from SpaceWeather.com