Meteor streaks across US, rattles Ohio, Pennsylvania
An asteroid that lit up the sky across the United States on March 17 morning caused a large boom that rattled Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania.
Rattled residents dialed 911, and local emergency officials called the National Weather Service (NWS), wondering "what the heck" at about 9 a.m. ET, said NWS meteorologist Bill Modzelewski in Pittsburgh.
One of our employees, Jared Rackley, caught this morning's meteor on camera from the Pittsburgh area. pic.twitter.com/2LdqOpChti
— NWS Pittsburgh (@NWSPittsburgh) March 17, 2026
NASA later confirmed that the cause of the jolt was a meteor, which was first visible above Lake Erie.
The fireball in the sky was caused by a small asteroid nearly six feet in diameter and weighing over seven tons.
"[It] moved southeast at 45,000 mph before fragmenting over Valley City," NASA said, adding that the fragments produced meteorites in Medina County, Ohio.
It added that the asteroid unleashed an energy of 250 tons of TNT when it fragmented, causing the booms and explosive noises heard by residents.
NASA spokesperson Bill Cooke told News5 Cleveland that the speed was "fast for a human but slow for a meteor."
Laurence Garvie, a research professor and curator of the Buseck Center for Meteorite Studies at Arizona State University, said that those who'll be able to locate the wreckage will likely find lots of little black rocks.
The booming sound was when the space object broke the sound barrier at a speed somewhere between 25,000 and 160,000 miles per hour, according to Garvie.
The American Meteor Society received more than 100 reports of sightings of the fireball, according to the online site EarthSky.
"I've been getting calls and texts all morning. This is very exciting for us," Garvie said. "They may just look like black stones on the ground, but you can actually hold something older than the Earth. Something from outer space. And we can learn new things from them." (with reports from Rich McKay / REUTERS)
