"Bolide meteor created the thunderous sonic boom."
Share
Send this article to your social connections.
Was it thunder? An earthquake? A meteor? Sonic boom?
People around Greater Boston and beyond heard and felt a loud boom Saturday afternoon, as reported across various social media platforms and neighborhood groups.
“Did anyone hear the loud explosion at approx 2:10 PM in Oak Square Area?” Boston City Council President Liz Breadon posted in an Allston-Brighton Facebook group.
Some social media users speculated that it was an explosion, an earthquake, or a sonic boom.
Meteorologists soon ruled out an earthquake and indicated the incident may have been a meteor. Here’s what local officials and meteorologists are saying:
“Very large ‘flash’ detected by GOES-19 GLM that does not correlate with active thunderstorms,” spaceflight meteorologist Nick Stewart reported on X.
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. pic.twitter.com/ka5b9KfiQ7
— Nick Stewart (@NStewWX) May 30, 2026
“Bolide meteor created the thunderous sonic boom,” said Pete Bouchard, chief meteorologist for NBC10 Boston, on X.
Bolide meteor created the thunderous sonic boom. You can see it on GLM satellite. The blobs offshore are lightning, but the big splat off the South Shore is the bolide meteor. pic.twitter.com/a2AF7x34TA
— Pete Bouchard (@PeteNBCBoston) May 30, 2026
“There is no lightning in this current storm, no earthquake from USGS,” Pamela Gardner, a meteorologist for NBC10 Boston, reported.
Big explosion/boom around Boston
— Pamela Gardner NBC10 Boston (@Pamelanbcboston) May 30, 2026
GLM from GOES 19 shows possible meteor or bolide entering the atmosphere. There is no lightning in this current storm, no earthquake from USGS. pic.twitter.com/Wamm66BIRg
This NOAA product which measures I think some sort of energy definitely shows that explosion in the atmosphere over Cape cod bay. This is what we all heard. Just a little bigger than the tree I thought went down. #boom pic.twitter.com/Gz0aPFEI4N
— Dave Epstein (@growingwisdom) May 30, 2026
A theory about the “boom:” GOES19 lightning mapper showing a large flash far removed from actual lightning, close to SE Mass. Meteor? pic.twitter.com/ejzCC2ca3K
— A.J. Burnett (@WxManAJB) May 30, 2026
All – Numerous reports of a 'large boom' with shaking felt at ground level across interior Mass from about Franklin MA north thru North-Central RI. USGS has "not" reported an earthquake. This "might" be a meteor that blew up in mid-air with a light streak observed per social…
— SNE Amateur Radio Skywarn (@WX1BOX) May 30, 2026
This afternoon, Massachusetts Public Safety Officials received reports of an audible boom and ground tremors in Eastern Massachusetts. Although we do not yet know the cause, there are no known emergency police or fire requests connected to these reports and we do not believe…
— Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (@EOPSS) May 30, 2026
“There have been hundreds of 911 calls across eastern MA, southern NH. And northern CT,” Northeast Massachusetts Emergency Alerts posted on Facebook at 2:31 p.m,” confirming a loud sound heard in the Peabody/Middleton/Lynnfield area.
“There is no confirmation of what this may have been, but there has been no evidence of any sort of fire or explosion when companies responded to investigate in numerous towns,” the post noted. “Possibly an earthquake or some sort of sonic boom. A similar episode occurred within the last few days in South Carolina. No reports of any ongoing danger to the public.”
Did you hear it? Tell us your experience
May 30, 2026: Did you hear a loud boom?
Heather Alterisio, a senior content producer, joined Boston.com in 2022 after working for more than five years as a general assignment reporter at newspapers in Massachusetts.
Extra News Alerts
Get breaking updates as they happen.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com