A significant fireball event was observed across multiple states in the southeastern United States on a Thursday afternoon, prompting widespread reports from the public and subsequent analysis by meteorological and emergency management agencies. The phenomenon, described as a bright streak in the sky, was captured on dashcam footage and social media videos, with some reports indicating a potential impact on a residential property. The National Weather Service (NWS) and other officials have been coordinating to gather information and assess the event, which has been classified as a bolide, a type of fireball that explodes in a bright terminal flash.
The initial reports of the fireball began circulating around midday. The National Weather Service office in Charleston, South Carolina, stated on its social media platforms that it had received "many reports" of a fireball across the southeastern U.S. The agency noted that satellite-based lightning detection showed a streak within cloud-free sky over the border of North Carolina and Virginia between 11:51 a.m. and 11:56 a.m. In an update, the NWS corrected the timeframe of this detection. Analysis of satellite data by CNN also revealed additional signatures over the Atlanta area in Georgia.
Witnesses provided vivid accounts of the event. Kathryn Farr shared dashcam video captured while driving south on Interstate 85 toward Anderson, South Carolina, at approximately 12:25 p.m., describing it as "Not something you see everyday." Another view from Andrew Corley Road in Lexington, South Carolina, showed the suspected meteorite burning bright white with an orange flame tail before disappearing into a wooded area. Brenda Eckard, 64, from Gilbert, South Carolina, reported seeing a "big flash in the sky come down and disappear" while driving home, initially mistaking it for a firework. Her husband later checked their home, which was unaffected.
In Georgia, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office in Covington was notified by the weather service that the fireball was most likely a meteor, with the possibility of more fragments arriving. The sheriff’s office confirmed reports from residents in and around Covington but had no information on the meteor's landing location at the time. Videos shared on social media showed the fireball descending into a wooded area in South Carolina.
The event was also associated with a potential impact on a residential property. The NWS office in Peachtree City, Georgia, reported on Facebook that a piece of the object—termed a meteor or "space junk"—had pierced a home's roof, ceiling, and laminate floor before coming to a stop. This incident was in Henry County, Georgia, according to CNN's reporting. The American Meteor Society defines a fireball as an unusually bright meteor reaching a magnitude over -4, brighter than Venus. The event has been specifically classified as a bolide, a type that explodes in a bright terminal flash. Bolides occur several dozen times a year when Earth is impacted by asteroids too small to reach the ground but large enough to explode in the atmosphere, as explained by NASA. While the vast majority of these events occur over oceans and uninhabited regions, and many are masked by daylight, Thursday's event was notable for its visibility and reported ground impact.
Emergency management officials in North Carolina and Tennessee were contacted by CNN for comment. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) directed questions to NASA, and CNN has also reached out to NASA for further analysis. South Carolina’s emergency management division confirmed it was monitoring the situation.
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