NASA confirms Tuesday's sonic boom was caused by meteor

Friday, March 20, 2026 at 10:23 AM

By Shelby Lopez

A sonic boom heard across the area on Tuesday, March 17, has been confirmed by NASA to be from the result of a massive meteor exploding over Ohio that could be heard across several states, including Indiana.

According to NASA, the event was caused by a seven-ton meteor disintegrating in the atmosphere at 9 a.m. March 17, with energy equivalent to 250 tons of TNT, causing shaking similar to an earthquake. The event shook buildings and rattled windows across Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Wisconsin, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia, as well as parts of Canada.

In Winamac, students at Winamac High School reported hearing the boom during class. WHS Junior, Delilah Briggs, said she had been in the nurse's office when the event occurred. Briggs said the noise had been so loud it had rattled the shelves and ceiling, causing her and the school nurse to think that either an explosion had occurred nearby or that a vehicle had rammed into the school.

The American Meteor Society reported receiving more than 100 reports on the meteor, with many eye witness accounts describing it as a daylight fireball, with a visible vapor trail.

Experts say the unusual event, which was also visible from space, may have rained tiny meteorite fragments across the local area when it broke apart around 30 miles above the town of Valley City, Ohio, creating a bright flash that lasted for up to seven seconds. The unique, naturally occurring event was loud and may have startled many, but no injuries or significant damage were reported from the event.

According to a NASA report, the meteor was reported to have been around six-feet in diameter and fragmented, producing a pressure wave that caused the loud boom.