Fireball Frenzy: Meteor Detonates in Sky, Sends Shockwaves Across Ohio and Pennsylvania [Video]

A sudden flash across the morning sky, followed by a powerful boom, left residents across parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania searching for answers on Tuesday.

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Officials now say the source was likely a meteor. The National Weather Service in Cleveland reported that available imagery strongly points to a meteor event as the cause of the loud explosion-like sound. At the same time, the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh confirmed multiple sightings of a bright fireball streaking through the sky over western Pennsylvania.

Witnesses across several states described a similar experience. Many reported hearing a deep, single boom, while others saw a glowing object moving before disappearing. One National Weather Service employee in Pittsburgh even captured video showing the object cutting across the sky in real time.

According to NASA Meteoroid Environments Office lead Bill Cooke, the object measured about six feet across and weighed roughly eight tons. It was traveling at an estimated 40,000 miles per hour before breaking apart over Medina County, Ohio. That breakup released energy comparable to 250 tons of TNT, which explains the widespread sound that startled residents.

Fragments from the meteor may have fallen in the surrounding area, though no injuries or damage have been officially reported. Sightings also extended as far south as Virginia and Kentucky, showing just how far the event reached.

While fireballs like this occur about once a month over the United States, experts say they rarely produce such a loud and widely heard blast.