MASSACHUSETTS — A meteor exploded off the coast of Massachusetts on Saturday afternoon, May 30, 2026, producing a loud sonic boom heard across the Northeast. The event occurred around 2:11 p.m. Eastern Time and startled residents from Boston to Rhode Island.
People described a sudden bang that rattled windows, startled pets, and shook some homes. Dozens of phone calls flooded the WBZ-TV newsroom from locations including Boston, Ipswich, Massachusetts, and Johnston, Rhode Island, reporting what sounded like an explosion with no visible source. Several videos posted on X captured two quick booms but showed no fire, smoke, or other visual causes.
According to preliminary reports submitted to the American Meteor Society, dozens of people across the Northeast reported seeing a fireball around 2 p.m. Saturday. Sightings stretched from Delaware to Montreal. Satellite lightning data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed a signature consistent with a meteor around the time the boom was reported, suggesting the object entered the atmosphere over the South Shore near Boston.
Robert Lunsford, Fireball Program Monitor with the American Meteor Society, said the meteor was about 3 feet wide. "It was definitely bigger than a normal fireball, about a yard wide," he said. He added that the group received dozens of reports of people hearing a double boom, feeling the ground shake, or seeing the fireball. "We would need more information about the trajectory, the speed and other aspects to know for sure if it hit the ground, but if it didn't burn up, then it would have landed in the ocean," he said. "Most of them do burn up before they hit the ground."
WBZ-TV Chief Meteorologist Eric Fisher said, "On our lightning mapper, on satellite data, you can see where exactly that came into the atmosphere very close to Boston, causing all of that excitement." Spaceflight meteorologist Nick Stewart wrote, "The flash density product really shows this anomalous 'flash' which is pretty distinctive of a bolide/meteor reentry east of Boston. This is the likely source of the loud boom/explosion." The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security confirmed it was investigating reports of an audible boom and ground tremors in Eastern Massachusetts but stated there are no known emergency requests connected to the event and no public safety threat.
The U.S. Geological Survey ruled out an earthquake, noting it received numerous 'Did you feel it?' reports but detected no seismic event on its instruments. There are no confirmed reports of where the meteor may have landed.