Meteor Hits Near Cleveland, Ohio, at 45,000 mph: Stunning Video Captures 7-ton Fireball
A large 7-ton meteor struck near the Cleveland, Ohio, area, on March 17, 2026, after fragmenting in the air, according to NASA.
"A very bright daylight fireball was observed by witnesses from the northeast U.S. and Canada this morning, March 17," NASA wrote. "An analysis of currently available data places first visibility of the meteor above Lake Erie."
The American Meteor Society wrote: "We received 175 reports about a fireball seen over DC, DE, IL, IN, KY, MD, MI, NC, NJ, NY, OH, Ontario, PA, and VA on Tuesday, March 17th, 2026, around 12:56 UT." The society's website includes photos, a video, and detailed reports on the asteroid.
A dramatic video captured the meteor. Be forewarned that the language used in the video is graphic. Other videos recorded in multiple states show the fireball streaming across the sky.
NASA Says the 'Fireball' Was Traveling 45,000 MPH
#MeteorSighting: A very bright daylight fireball was observed by witnesses from the northeast U.S. and Canada this morning, March 17. An analysis of currently available data places first visibility of the meteor above Lake Erie. The fireball - caused by a small asteroid nearly 6… pic.twitter.com/RREY3TeZ8F
— NASA Space Alerts (@NASASpaceAlerts) March 17, 2026
NASA explained that the meteor broke into fragments before striking the Earth.
"The fireball - caused by a small asteroid nearly 6 feet in diameter and weighing about 7 tons - moved southeast at 45,000 mph before fragmenting over Valley City. The fragments continued on to the south, producing meteorites in the vicinity of Medina County, Ohio," wrote NASA.
"Many eyewitnesses in the states of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the District of Columbia and the Canadian province of Ontario have filed reports on the American Meteor Society website of a very bright daylight fireball seen March 17 at 8:57 AM Eastern Daylight Time (2026 March 17, 12:57 UTC)," NASA wrote.
Many videos captured the meteor as it flew toward Earth.
An asteroid weighing seven tons and traveling at 45,000 miles per hour zoomed over the skies of Cleveland and Pennsylvania as a meteor today, causing a loud boom that some residents mistook for an explosion. https://t.co/YbCQBXVuJp pic.twitter.com/mwEG71MyRi
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 17, 2026
"That’s a rocky or metal piece, a fragment that’s floating through space, that comes in contact with our atmosphere; it’s that friction that creates that streak of light that we see,” said JonDarr Bradshaw, a community engagement coordinator for the Great Lakes Science Center, to Cleveland19. “It’s very rare, because the earth has such a thick atmosphere, that that particle, that object actually makes it all the way to the ground.”
The Meteor 'Unleashed' 250 Tons of TNT, NASA Says
(Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The meteor "was also detected by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper on the GOES satellite and several cameras in the region," NASA reported.
"An analysis of all currently available data places first visibility of the meteor at an altitude of 50 miles above Lake Erie, off the beaches of Lorain in northern Ohio. Moving east of south at 40,000 miles per hour, the fireball - caused by a small asteroid nearly 6 feet in diameter and weighing about 7 tons - traveled over 34 miles through the upper atmosphere before fragmenting 30 miles over Valley City, north of Medina," added the space agency. "The fragments continued on to the south, producing meteorites in the vicinity of Medina County, Ohio."
The asteroid "unleashed an energy of 250 tons of TNT when it fragmented, resulting in a pressure wave which propagated to the ground, causing the booms and explosive noises heard by many of the public. It may have also shook houses north of Medina.
We thank the American Meteor Society for providing the eyewitness accounts," wrote NASA.
The space agency provided a map that listed sightings.