NWS says loud explosion across Northeast Ohio may have been caused by meteor—what we know

The National Weather Service (NWS) said a loud explosion heard across Northeast Ohio on Tuesday morning may have been caused by a meteor entering the Earth’s atmosphere.

Officials noted that satellite imagery showed what appeared to be a lightning-like flash around 9 am, but since there were no thunderstorms in the region, they believe the boom was likely linked to a meteor, according to a report by Cleveland.

They explained that the object would have disintegrated in the atmosphere before reaching the ground. The thunder-like sound reported by residents was likely a sonic boom, a shock wave produced when the meteor travelled faster than the speed of sound, sending intense air-pressure waves outward.

NWS meteorologist Brian Mitchell stated, “We have not heard of anything actually hitting the ground."

What does the video show?

A video recorded at the Olmsted Falls bus garage and later shared on social media by Superintendent Dr. Jim Lloyd appears to show a meteor streaking across the sky. Residents throughout Northeast Ohio responded to a NWS post on X, saying they both heard and felt the loud boom, which reportedly rattled homes and disturbed pets.

At least one city issued a message to residents acknowledging the noise, stating that officials were aware of the incident but had no confirmed explanation at the time, and urged people to refrain from calling 9-1-1. Users on Reddit also described hearing the sound across a large part of northern Ohio, from areas such as Norwalk and Fremont in the west to Ashtabula in the east, and southward to communities including Brunswick, Columbia Station, and Solon.

One Lakewood resident said the noise was so intense they initially believed a tree had crashed onto their roof, while another person in Brooklyn described hearing what sounded like fireworks that “lingered and rumbled like thunder.”

Ralph Harvey, a professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Science at Case Western Reserve University, said he also heard the sonic boom and believes it was likely caused by a meteor that exploded in the atmosphere, the report said.

He noted that it remains uncertain whether any fragments from the object reached the ground. Scientists, he added, are expected to analyse radar readings and other data to estimate the meteor’s size, speed, and the possible locations where any debris might have landed.

“If it was out over Lake Erie, no one’s going to be able to find anything, probably,” he mentioned.

Harvey explained that meteors frequently enter the Earth’s atmosphere, but most of them disintegrate before reaching the ground. He noted that when such events occur at very high altitudes, they are less likely to produce sounds that can be heard on the surface.

He also said that meteors move at speeds far exceeding the speed of sound.