An object weighing roughly 7 tons streaked across the morning sky before 9 a.m. ET, creating a bright fireball and a powerful sonic boom that some residents mistook for an explosion. NASA and weather officials say the meteor traveled at about 45,000 miles per hour and was seen by people across 10 states, Washington, D.C., and Ontario.
The National Weather Service office in Pittsburgh posted video from an employee showing the meteor arcing overhead. Witnesses in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania reported hearing a strong blast; one person told local media the shockwave shook their entire house.
NASA scientists explained the noise resulted when the asteroid fragmented, producing a pressure wave that reached the ground. The agency estimated the breakup released energy equivalent to roughly 250 tons of TNT — enough to rattle homes in the area.
A geostationary lightning mapper (GLM), an instrument that normally detects brief flashes in the atmosphere to map lightning, also recorded the event. NWS shared GLM imagery that showed a distinctive green flash over Cleveland, supporting the meteor explanation.
Analysis indicates the object first became visible about 50 miles above Lake Erie, off the coast of Lorain, Ohio. It traveled east of south at roughly 45,000 mph, moving more than 34 miles through the upper atmosphere before fragmenting over Valley City, Ohio. NASA said fragments likely landed across parts of Medina County and that some very small pieces reached the ground.
Bill Cooke, head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, estimated the rock was about 6 feet in diameter and too small to have been tracked in advance. He said it may have been a small asteroid from the main belt or a fragment from a larger body, but its exact origin is unknown.
Ohio has seen other recent fireballs: one captured on a doorbell camera in mid-February and another recorded on March 15, according to local reports.