Space Rock Creates Loud Boom, Fireball Over Ohio and Pennsylvania

A meteor likely crashed near Cleveland Tuesday morning, creating a thunderous boom and bright fireball visible across multiple states. Emergency officials fielded numerous 911 calls from startled residents who witnessed the spectacular celestial event around 9 a.m.

Emergency dispatchers across Ohio and Pennsylvania were flooded with 911 calls Tuesday morning after a spectacular meteor created a thunderous explosion and brilliant fireball streaking across the sky, according to meteorologists and space scientists.

The dramatic celestial display occurred around 9 a.m. Eastern Time and was witnessed as far away as Virginia and Canada, prompting confused local emergency officials to contact the National Weather Service for answers, said meteorologist Bill Modzelewski from the NWS Pittsburgh office.

“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,” the weather service announced on social media.

Scientists believe the space rock touched down in Medina, located approximately 40 miles southwest of Cleveland, according to Laurence Garvie, who serves as a research professor and curator at Arizona State University’s Buseck Center for Meteorite Studies. He expects meteorite hunters searching the area will discover numerous small black stone fragments.

The explosive sound occurred when the celestial object shattered the sound barrier while traveling at speeds ranging from 25,000 to 160,000 miles per hour, Garvie explained. The American Meteor Society documented over 100 witness reports of the fireball sighting, as reported by the astronomy website 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.”