Meteor Booms Over US Northeast, Shakes Buildings

The phenomenon is known as a bolide — a meteor that explodes in the atmosphere — and its passage was unusually well documented. Weather radar detected a bright flash in an area with no thunderstorm activity, a signature consistent with a bolide, according to meteorologist Danielle Noyes of 1 Degree Outside. Imagery from the GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) network, which is also used to track lightning, captured the same flash above eastern Massachusetts. Despite the technical evidence, officials urged caution: the National Weather Service said that only NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) can issue a final confirmation, which often requires recovered debris or further trajectory analysis.

Lunsford said it was unlikely that any of the meteor reached the ground. "Most of them do burn up before they hit the ground," he noted, adding that anything that survived would probably have landed in the Atlantic Ocean. The fireball was visible as far away as Delaware and Montreal, and the American Meteor Society received dozens of eyewitness reports. Across Massachusetts and Rhode Island, police and fire departments were inundated with calls from people who initially feared an industrial explosion, and several agencies asked residents to stop phoning in. One Framingham resident described feeling two huge blasts and a shockwave, while another said the rumble lasted three to four seconds — longer than a typical explosion and unlike thunder. As of Saturday evening, NASA had not issued formal confirmation of the bolide.