I Heard the Sound of a Massive Explosion in Cleveland Today—and the Cause Surprised Me!
A massive boom rattled Northeast Ohio—NASA’s explanation is wild (and reassuring)!
Though St. Patrick’s Day is considered to be a lucky occasion, many Northeast Ohio residents felt anything but fortunate when they heard what sounded like a massive explosion in the Cleveland area this morning. The large boom left many people—myself included—shaken and anxiously awaiting answers. Was this an earthquake, an industrial accident or something else entirely? Luckily, experts have already shared with various Cleveland-based journalists what they believe caused the loud noise, and the truth certainly surprised me! Keep reading to learn more about the surprising Cleveland-area event that occurred this morning.
Explosion in Cleveland? What I heard during the St. Patrick’s Day boom
This winter has been full of ups and downs for Ohioans—unseasonably warm winter days immediately followed by snowstorms. In fact, just this week we went from experiencing a balmy 70-degree Sunday to a frigidly cold and snowy Tuesday. These frequent weather changes have become so commonplace here in Ohio that few give it a second thought.
But the sound of an explosion at 9 a.m. on St. Patrick’s Day? That is going to garner some attention.
It was certainly loud enough to cause me to stop mid-task and wonder, “Is that my neighbor slamming car doors again?” Given the wind advisory Northeast Ohio has been having the last 24 hours, it seemed like a plausible explanation. Even my pets chose to completely disregard the noise and continue about their morning.
I wasn’t even giving it a second thought until my mom sent me a message shortly after describing a loud sound. Having no idea I had also just heard it, she mentioned that it sounded like something heavy landed on the roof of their two-story home and ran across it. She was located on the first floor at the time and was surprised by how much it caught her attention.
After sharing my own experience with her, I did what anyone with internet access does after an unusual phenomenon: see what everyone in your town’s Facebook groups has to say about it.
How Northeast Ohio residents reacted to the mysterious ‘explosion’
Unsurprising to anyone who is part of a community Facebook group, the pages were quickly flooded with people trying to figure out what had just happened. Many commenters said it sounded like a tree falling down next to their house.
Some immediately suspected an earthquake (they are frequent here in town), but I had to disagree. This strange explosion sound seemed like something else entirely.
When I saw comments from Ohioans in other counties who had heard the same noise, I began searching on other online platforms to see just how widespread this event had been. It didn’t take long for me to discover that we had just been part of something on a much larger scale.
NASA confirms a meteor hit Ohio on St. Patrick’s Day
So what exactly was this shocking St. Patrick’s Day boom that shook much of Ohio? According to early reports from Cleveland news stations, this appears to have been caused by a meteor hitting the state.
A NASA spokesperson confirmed to a News 5 Cleveland reporter that the meteor was spotted near Medina, Ohio, which is roughly 30 minutes south of downtown Cleveland. The article also includes security camera footage that clearly shows a fireball traveling across the sky.
Even more surprising? The unexpected sight wasn’t only seen in Ohio! “Saw what looked like a meteor flying over Butler, PA,” one Facebook user commented this morning.
For most of us Ohio residents, however, our only experience was the sound of the sonic-like boom. (You can hear it for yourself in a video posted by Fox 8.)
Why this St. Patrick’s Day “lucky” event is more common than you think
These bright streaks of light, often referred to as shooting stars, are the result of a small piece of space debris burning up in Earth’s atmosphere. These space rocks travel incredibly fast—up to 160,000 miles per hour! That speed creates so much friction that most meteors burn up completely before they ever reach Earth.
Despite this, they are actually more common than you may realize.
“We get hit every day by meteors,” astronomer Jay Reynolds told Fox 8. “Sometimes if they get low enough, yeah they will [make a sound], and since it’s cloudy out there would be no smoke trails or evidence of that.”
Luckily, most meteors are quite small and will go unnoticed if they do make their way to Earth. Other times, your state will be hit by one just large enough to create a St. Patrick’s Day memory that you soon won’t forget.
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