Cleveland meteor likely triggered loud boom, National Weather Service says

As of March 17, 2026, 8:30 PM ET, officials said a Cleveland meteor is the most likely source of a loud boom that rattled the city and was reported across parts of the region. The National Weather Service described instrument readings and imagery that point to a high-altitude object producing both a bright flash and an audible shock.

The NWS office in Pittsburgh released a short video showing the object arcing through the sky; the agency said the clip was recorded by an employee. Residents reported fearing an explosion, with some saying the blast shook their homes and others noting the sound was heard as far away as New York and Pennsylvania. A local meteorologist said the noise likely occurred when the object exceeded the sound barrier, though officials said the precise time the meteoroid entered the atmosphere remains unclear. The NWS cited detections from a geostationary lightning mapper—an instrument the NOAA uses to locate quick atmospheric flashes—that registered a bright, lightning-like pulse over Cleveland and produced imagery described as a green flash.

More specific measurements and trajectory data were not immediately available, and the American Meteor Society had not issued a statement at the time of the NWS release. The event follows other recent fireball sightings in Ohio: one captured on a doorbell camera in mid-February around 11:30 p.m. and another recorded on March 15. Officials said they will review sensor and video evidence to refine details of the observation.