From: Mark Balzer, Spiro, Oklahoma Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 00:14:34 -0600 LEONID METEOR OBSERVATION / TUESDAY MORNING 1200UTC 17NOV1998 Two miles east of Spiro, Oklahoma (10 miles west of Fort Smith, Arkansas), 35 deg.15'24"N / 94 deg.34'40"W. An average of over 500 meteors per hour were observed during the hours before sunrise. The pinnacle of this storm was a burst of countless meteors in a five second period. Within just a few degrees of the radiant, dozens of small meteors were observed during these five seconds. This burst was around 5:30 AM CST (1130 GMT). The meteors in this burst were spread randomly around the radiant. During the burst, other bright meteors were visible away from the radiant using peripheral vision. Seeing this burst was like looking at a photograph. Unfortunately, it lasted just five seconds. This shower, the best I've ever seen, has many bright meteors. Some meteors are leaving trails and trains. All are very fast. There are lulls in the shower, perhaps only one or two meteors visible in a minute. But the next minute could have 10 meteors. Meteors often appear in groups of two or more (many more a few times). A group may consist of meteors a one to five seconds apart, in the same part of the sky. Other times, meteors are observed simultaneously (or nearly so) but in different parts of the sky. Group members are often similar in brightness. Just before sunrise, I was still observing bright meteors. That's right, this shower was observed in predawn daylight!