Meteor explosion visible from Montréal creates widespread shock
Natural object entering atmosphere near Boston triggers double boom heard across region from Delaware to Quebec.
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A meteor roughly 3 feet wide entered the atmosphere Saturday afternoon near the New Hampshire–Massachusetts border, triggering a double boom that reverberated across the northeastern United States and into Quebec, with sightings and reports reaching as far north as Montréal.
The American Meteor Society received dozens of reports from people across the region who either heard the explosion, felt the ground shake, or witnessed the fireball in the daytime sky. NASA officials confirmed the material was natural and entered the atmosphere at 2:06 p.m., traveling at approximately 75,000 mph.
The meteor likely fragmented about 40 miles above the ground, releasing energy equivalent to roughly 300 tons of TNT—accounting for the powerful dual boom heard by people across multiple states. Despite the intensity, Robert Lunsford, the American Meteor Society's program monitor, said it was unlikely the meteor struck the ground. "Most of them burn up before they hit the ground," he noted, though he added that without precise trajectory data, a splash in the Atlantic Ocean remained possible.
The shaking was strong enough that people filed reports with the U.S. Geological Survey, though seismographs registered no earthquake activity. The event briefly sparked confusion across social media, with residents in a handful of states posting videos of the booms and describing buildings shaking around them.