Hundreds in South Carolina witness ball of fire plummeting to earth, officials confirm

A fireball fell from the sky June 26 around Noon as several hundred witnesses recalled the event. People in several states said they saw the fireball and at least one home received damage in Georgia.

If you thought you saw something that resembled a large ball of fire plummeting to earth at a high speed around noon on June 26, you were not alone.   

There were numerous reports from people around the Lowcountry and the Upstate of what officials confirmed to be a large fireball falling from the sky on June 26.

“Many reports of a fireball across the Southeast U.S.,” the National Weather Service in Charleston posted on its Facebook page. “It is not certain, but the satellite-based lightning detection shows a streak within a cloud-free sky over the NC/VA border, over Gasburg, VA. This streak was detected between 11:51 a.m. and 11:56 a.m.”

The American Meteor Society had 100 witness reports on June 26, which it lists as Major Fireball Events, on its website. Reports were from witnesses who saw the fireball all around South Carolina, including reports from Greenwood, Anderson, Clemson, and Simpsonville.

A large number of people in Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper counties witnessed the fireball and shared their experiences on social media. The fireball was also reported to have been seen in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.

“I saw something, burning white-hot, fall from the sky off 278 near Sun City,” Lori Day Harty, a Hardeeville resident, posted on the Jasper County ask and answer social media page.

“I saw it too in Bluffton,” Ridgeland resident Juliana Horton posted.

A witness from Savannah, Ga.,  listed on the American Meteorological Society’s website, and referred to as Joseph L., described the fireball as “bright orange, small in size.”

One of the witnesses in Anderson, referred to as Ralph H., said, “I’ve never seen a meteor in the middle of the day. Wild!”  

The American Meteor Society defines a fireball on its website as “another term for a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4, which is about the same magnitude as the planet Venus in the morning or evening sky. “

The society stated that several thousand fireball meteors occur in the Earth’s atmosphere daily; however, the vast majority of them occur over the oceans and in uninhabited regions, usually not visible during daylight hours.

“Additionally, the brighter the fireball, the more rare is the event,” the society said. “As a general thumb rule, there are only about 1/3 as many fireballs present for each successively brighter magnitude class, following an exponential decrease.”

Types of sounds generated by fireballs

Several people reported that a sound accompanied the fireball seen in the Lowcountry and Upstate.

“There are two reported types of sounds generated by very bright fireballs, both of which are quite rare,” the society said. “These are sonic booms and electrophonic sounds.”

The society has a complete list of frequently asked questions about fireballs and meteors, which can be found at Fireball FAQs – American Meteor Society.

How to report a sighting

Those who might want to report their sightings can do so through the society.

“The easiest way to report a fireball to us is to utilize our online form,” the society said. “Information on reporting fireballs is also provided by the International Meteor Organization Fireball Data Center (FIDAC).

Meteor damage reported by NWS in Georgia

The U.S. National Weather Service in Peachtree, Ga., posted on its Facebook page that there were reports of roof damage, which was presumably caused by the fireball.

“The Henry County Emergency Management Agency passed along to us that a citizen reported that a ‘rock’ fell through their ceiling (around the time of the other reports of a meteor and also what had been thought to have been an earthquake),” the U.S. National Weather Service in Peachtree, Ga., posted. “We are presuming a piece of the object fell through their roof. Henry County EMA reports than an object broke through the roof, then the ceiling, before cracking the laminate on the floor and stopping.”