A fireball captured on a dashcam in South Carolina
Kathryn Rose Farr via Facebook
Spectators in several south-eastern US states reported witnessing a fireball streaking down from the sky on the afternoon of 26 June.
The American Meteor Society’s website received over 142 reports about the fireball event from observers in states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The National Weather Service office in Charleston, South Carolina, confirmed a streak in the sky over the North Carolina-Virginia border between 11.51 and 11.56am Eastern Daylight Time using satellite-based lightning detection.
A dashcam video from a driver in upstate South Carolina captured the fiery object descending from the sky and disappearing behind a forested area near the highway. Another vehicle southwest of Columbia, South Carolina, also recorded footage of the falling object.
VIDEO | This was just sent to me taken from a dash camera on I-85 SB in Upstate South Carolina pic.twitter.com/49PvNsorAK
— Cody Alcorn (@CodyAlcorn) June 26, 2025
According to Mike Hankey from the American Meteor Society, this event could be classified as a bolide fireball, where a bright meteor explodes and disintegrates as it enters Earth’s atmosphere, as mentioned in an interview with WXIA-TV in Georgia.
Meteorologist Chris Jackson noted on social media that local fire departments were investigating reports of “fireballs falling out of the sky.” However, as of early afternoon, responders had not located any debris on the ground.
There are currently no major meteor showers occurring and visible from Earth. The upcoming significant meteor shower event is expected to be the Southern delta Aquariids starting next month.
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