Meteor hitting atmosphere is ‘likely’ cause for loud boom heard in Utah and Idaho, officials say
CNN
By Rebekah Riess and Sara Smart, CNN
A high-altitude meteor which blew up when it hit the atmosphere “is likely the best theory” for a loud boom heard across portions of northern Utah and southern Idaho on Saturday, said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
Cox, a Republican, said in a tweet he heard a loud boom while he was running in Salt Lake City early Saturday morning.
“We have confirmed it was not seismic/earthquake and not related to our military instillations,” his tweet continued.
The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City shared a screenshot of a radar map on Twitter showing two pink and red pixels over Davis and Morgan counties in Utah.
The agency said the pixels are “not associated with evidence of thunderstorm activity in satellite or radar,” but they are likely a result of the meteor trail and flash.
Utah residents took to social media to share their videos capturing the loud boom heard in the area Saturday morning. One video, recorded by the Snowbasin Ski Resort’s web camera, captured the meteor streaking across the sky.
Residents in Salt Lake City and South Jordan, which is about 20 minutes to the south, told CNN they heard the boom. Doorbell and home cameras recorded the sound from 8:30 a.m. to 8:32 a.m.
The meteor sighting took place at the tail end of the peak of Perseid meteor shower, which took occurred from Thursday through Saturday. This year’s barely visible peak happened at 11 p.m. ET Friday and the shower is active between July 14 and September 1, according to EarthSky.
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