National Weather Service
By Joe Edwards
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A loud boom felt across northeast Ohio on Tuesday morning was caused by a meteor, meteorologists have confirmed.
NASA confirmed on Tuesday that the loud boom was a result of a six-foot, 17,000-pound meteor, which was traveling 44,000 miles per hour across the sky near Lake Erie. The fireball broke up in the atmosphere, releasing energy which resulted in shaking across the area.
An Ohio resident named Jace wrote on X: "Heard the loudest boom just now in northeast Ohio. People heard it as far as Avon. What was that? Meteor?"
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Early Tuesday, the National Weather Service's (NWS) forecasting office in Cleveland responded: "The latest GLM imagery does suggest that the boom was a result of a meteor."
An NWS spokesperson also told Newsweek that the event was likely caused by a meteor entering Earth's upper atmosphere.
Jared Rackley, an employee at the NWS office in Pittsburgh, captured video of the object streaking overhead from the Pittsburgh area.
"We're receiving reports across western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio of a loud boom and a fireball in the sky. Our satellite data suggest it was possibly a meteor entering the atmosphere," NWS Pittsburgh wrote on X.
Jim Lloyd, superintendent of Olmsted Falls City Schools in Ohio, also shared footage from a school bus garage camera of the bright meteor shooting across the sky.
Local news outlet WOIO reported that the boom—which occurred shortly before 9 a.m.—was heard and felt by tens of thousands people over northeast Ohio, and into Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, and Canada.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the equipment used to detect the flash—known as GLM imagery, or the Geostationary Lightning Mapper—is designed to track lightning, but can also detect bright meteors.
"The loud 'booms' that accompany meteors entering Earth's atmosphere with no visible source can cause a lot of anxiety, especially in populated areas. The National Weather Service (NWS) and broadcast meteorologists use GLM data to quickly confirm the source and notify citizens," the agency says on its website.
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Other meteors have been spotted above Ohio in recent weeks. One was filmed on a doorbell camera in mid-February just before midnight, according to CBS affiliate WNBS.
Another fireball shooting across the sky was recorded at around 10.30 p.m. on Saturday by residents in Pickerington. A number of residents reported hearing a loud sound and seeing a flash.
Newsweek contacted NASA and the American Meteor Society by email for additional information on Tuesday.
Update, 3/17/26, 11:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated with remarks from the National Weather Service and additional information.
Update, 3/17/26, 5 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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