Meteor explosion off Washington coast was biggest in 25 years
Mar 8, 2018, 8:09 AM | Updated: Mar 13, 2018, 12:11 pm
NASA confirmed the cause of a bright flash and loud boom off Washington’s coast last week was a meteor explosion.
A cosmic dust curator for NASA told KIRO 7 the explosion was the biggest of the continental U.S. in 25 years.
Marc Fries told KIRO 7 the explosion March 7 was about 12.5 miles off the coast. Meteor rocks ranged in size from dust to a brick.
It was a bolide meteor that exploded off the coast. The National Weather Service suspects it hit the atmosphere at an angle of approximately 45 degrees “relative to those who heard a sonic boom.”
Emergency Management in Grays Harbor County says there were at least 15 reports made to the American Meteor Society.
There was no severe weather event at the time of the incident, according to the Weather Service.
No reports of explosions or crashes on the ground were reported and the Federal Aviation Administration and the Western Air Defense Sector said they didn’t have any issues, KIRO 7 reports.
A video sent to KIRO 7 shows the flash in the sky.
