--- title: "Deafening Explosions in the Sky Rock Northeast Ohio" description: "Residents in Cleveland, Ohio were startled after hearing \"loud booms\" and a \"series of rumbling,\" on Tuesday morning." date: "2026-03-17" modified: "2026-03-17" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/space/explosions-fireball-ohio" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Off-World" - "Space" --- # Deafening Explosions in the Sky Rock Northeast Ohio ![Residents in Cleveland, Ohio were startled after hearing "loud booms" and a "series of rumbling," on Tuesday morning.]() *Getty / Futurism* Residents in Cleveland, Ohio were startled after hearing "loud booms" and a "series of rumbling," on Tuesday morning at around 9 am Eastern time. "Sounded like a few sonic booms, and then rumbling," one puzzled Reddit user [wrote](). "Not entirely consistent with aircraft, or thunder." "Should I be concerned I heard it sounded like someone dropped something heavy on the roof of my building," another spooked resident [added](). Officials from the National Weather Service have [since confirmed]() that the booms were likely a "result of a meteor," a fireball that broke the sound barrier as it entered the Earth's atmosphere. A [map]() built using data from NASA's Geostationary Lightning Mapper showed the location of the significant flare-up. And a [video]() shared by the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, shows the meteor lighting up against the blue morning sky as it tumbles toward the ground. https://twitter.com/NWSPittsburgh/status/2033904011183546605 The terminology surrounding the forceful celestial events is confusing. Meteoroids are rocks that travel through space. Once they hit the Earth's atmosphere, they heat up and turn into meteors, often erroneously referred to as "shooting stars." Once they hit the ground and cool down, they become meteorites. Our planet's atmosphere protects us from an [estimated 97,000 pounds]() of meteoritic material in just a single day. Most of the material vaporizes as it heats up, while small remaining amounts can survive the ordeal and plummet down to the surface, [punching through roofs]() or [smashing into the ground]() right next to particularly unfortunate individuals. However, the chances of being hit by a meteorite are fortunately [infinitesimally slim](). While some were shaken by the latest meteor strike, other netizens joked about the intense natural phenomenon. "Another reason why Cleveland is the center of the universe," one user [tweeted](). **More on meteors:** [*Amazing Telescope Photo Shows Comet Breaking Apart Into Huge Chunks*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()