If you were anywhere near Northeast Ohio this morning and felt your house shake, you weren’t imagining things — a meteor streaked across the East Coast sky on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2026, sending a thunderous sonic boom across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and beyond.
What Happened?
Around 9:00 a.m. EDT, a bright fireball blazed across the sky over the northeastern United States. Witnesses described it as a brilliant flash of yellow, bright orange, and red streaking overhead before it disappeared. Almost immediately, 911 lines in Northeast Ohio flooded with calls reporting what people described as an “earthquake-like” explosion — loud enough to knock picture frames and books off shelves in some homes.
The boom was heard and felt across three states — Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York — and the fireball was spotted by observers as far away as Canada and Virginia.
Confirmed: It Was a Meteor
The National Weather Service (NWS) Cleveland office confirmed that the event was consistent with a meteor, citing imagery from NASA’s Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM). NOAA GLM data supported the conclusion that the massive sonic boom shaking Northeast Ohio was caused by a space rock entering Earth’s atmosphere at high speed.
One Strongsville resident reported that their entire house shook from the impact, with items falling off walls. Reports poured into the American Meteor Society from Indiana all the way to Virginia.
See It for Yourself
Incredible footage of the fireball is already circulating online. Check out this video capturing the moment it lit up the sky:
📹 Watch the meteor footage on Instagram
A Wild Way to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day
While most people were celebrating the holiday with green beer and corned beef, the universe had its own fireworks show planned. Events like this are a reminder of just how dynamic and surprising our solar system can be — and how rarely we get a front-row seat to it.
Did you see or hear the meteor this morning? Drop a comment below — we’d love to hear your experience!