That Cleveland Fireball Was Small, but It Could Have Been Much Worse

<![CDATA[Residents across Northeast Ohio got a shock the morning of St. Patrick's Day. A bright fireball streaked across the sky around 9:00 a.m., visible in multiple states before a loud boom rattled homes from Cleveland into parts of Pennsylvania and New York.Windows shook, phones lit up, and, for a moment, people wondered if something far more serious had happened.   The object started as a small asteroid about six feet wide, weighing close to seven tons, and entered Earth's atmosphere at more than 40,000 miles per hour. The fireball first became visible about 50 miles above Lake Erie near Lorain, traveling roughly 34 miles before breaking apart about 30 miles above Valley City in Medina County. The breakup produced the flash and the shockwave people felt on the ground.]]>