Possible meteor creates house-shaking boom S. of Lake Erie
Residents reported a loud boom that caused houses to shake.
On Tuesday at around 9:00 a.m. EDT, a possible meteor created a loud boom south of Lake Erie, heard widely across Ohio.
Reports on the American Meteor Society’s website indicate the meteor was heard or seen in several places, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Virginia, Illinois, and Mississauga, Ontario.
Residents in the Cleveland, Ohio area reported a “deep, powerful blast that shook houses, rattled windows, and sent people rushing outside to see what had happened,” according to Cleveland.com.
On satellite imagery, the meteor resembled a lightning strike, but there were no thunderstorms in the area at the time.
More about meteors
“Scientists estimate that about 48.5 tons (44 tonnes or 44,000 kilograms) of meteoritic material falls on Earth each day,” NASA says on its website.
“Almost all the material is vaporized in Earth's atmosphere, leaving a bright trail fondly called ‘shooting stars.’”
NASA says on a given night, one can usually see “several” meteors per hour in the sky.
But, it is considered “extremely rare” for a large meteor to make it to the ground intact. When they do, they often fall in uninhabited areas, given that Earth is mostly covered in water.