Meteor Friday Morning Over WV: Flash Captured From Satellite And Sound On Video

Saturday September 18 2021

On Friday morning September 17, a loud boom was heard over the mountainous region between Eastern West Virginia and Virginia. Even the ground was shaking. Initial reports of an earthquake or explosion of Shenandoah County turned up empty.

Then power outages were reported of Hardy County, WV, which helped to narrow the search.

The time was reported ‘around 10:25 AM’, which well into the morning with a cloudy sky. It was hard to see what happened, but it got the attention of NASA.

GOES-16 Flash Density

Next up, the GOES-16 Satellite Flash Density product displayed a flash area over Hardy County. Under normal conditions this would represent lightning. The problem, there were no storms nearby.

Video (Audio)

My friend Aubrey Urbanowicz is the Chief Meteorologist at WHSV and has diligently been working this story since the beginning.

She posted many home videos, but this is my favorite and most compelling as you can see the dog’s reaction to the loud boom.

Another video coming in- sound only from Wardensville (Hardy, County)
Video from Janet Cooper pic.twitter.com/3zFmYpR8rd

— Aubrey Urbanowicz (@WHSVaubs) September 17, 2021

Satellite Image

Here we can see the flash location superimposed on the satellite image. The clouds obstructed the sky, but may have enhanced the acoustics. It is also why many people first dismissed this as thunder.

Animation Of The Flash

GIF of the GOES East Lightning flash density from 14:13 UTC to 14:26 UTC. The flash occurs at 14:24 UTC which is consistent with the 10:23 AM EST reports in the region #wvwx #vawx pic.twitter.com/rXDNRppUt6

— Peter Forister ⚡️🌪⚡️ (@forecaster25) September 17, 2021

From NASA Meteor Watch

Brightness Magnitude = -12; Same as a Full Moon
Energy Between 1 and 2 tons of TNT
Mass = about 50 lbs
Speed = 45,000 mph

“The fragmentation of the object produced a pressure wave recorded by seismometers and infrasound instruments in the area. A very quick analysis of the infrasound signal indicates an energy of a few tons of TNT, in reasonable agreement with the GLM energy estimate.”

Signal From Local Infrasound Station

“Signal from a local infrasound station, caused by the pressure wave produced when the object fragmented.”

Video/Audio: Even Louder Boom

Another video (sound) from the big boom heard across the area this morning
Video from Sophie McCauley in Rileyville pic.twitter.com/YaDoeH2YU0

— Aubrey Urbanowicz (@WHSVaubs) September 17, 2021

Tracking Map

Thanks to Mike Hankey with The American Meteor Society, this map shows 11 reports of the event. This helps to triangulate and narrow down the location and trajectory.