A mysterious, loud bang surprised people in Cleveland on Tuesday, leaving many worried and confused. Authorities later said the sound was likely “the result of a meteorite,” according to the National Weather Service.
Some residents immediately feared the sound was an explosion, according to CBS affiliate WOIO. One person told the station that the boom shook their entire house. The sound was heard as far away as New York and Pennsylvania, WOIO said.
Meteor captured on video
The NWS office in Pittsburgh shared a video on social media of the meteor crossing the sky.
The station said the video was taken by an employee. WOIO meteorologist Jeff Tanchak said the burst occurred when the meteor broke the sound barrier, but he said it’s unclear when the object entered the atmosphere.
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Meteor explosion over Lake Erie: American Meteor Society shares details
A meteor exploded Tuesday morning north of Cleveland over Lake Erie.
According to The Washington Post, the American Meteor Society received hundreds of reports of a meteor visible from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to Kentucky. It was also seen in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and western New York state. Although it occurred during the day, it was bright enough to be seen for about 5 and a half seconds.
Tens of thousands of people across northern Ohio heard a loud boom and some even felt the ground shake. According to experts, this could have been the sonic boom of the meteorite or the sound of its explosion.
A seismometer, or earthquake measuring instrument, detected a slight ground tremor at 8:56 a.m. local time in Lorain County, Ohio. The American Meteor Society is still studying reports to track the meteor’s path.
The GOES East weather satellite also detected a flash at 8:56 a.m. local time. At first it was considered to be lightning, but there were no storms in the area. Instead, it was the light produced by the meteorite explosion. The satellite is 22,234 miles above the ground.
It is too early to know the approximate size or trajectory of the meteor, or whether any fragments have reached the ground.
