Two Fireballs Hit West Coast Skies in Oregon, Washington, California - Captured on Video

Published 03/24/26 at 5:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Portland, Oregon) – There was a whole lotta fireball in the skies above California and Oregon Sunday night – and no, that doesn't mean the brand of booze. A couple of big objects hit the atmosphere on the West Coast in two separate incidents, both with numerous witnesses, video and even a space satellite catching sight of one.

The first hit far south of here in central California at 8:19 p.m. (03:19 UTC), according to the American Meteor Society (AMS). The second came screaming the skies of the Pacific Northwest at 6:06 a.m. Monday morning and was seen from northern California, throughout the Oregon coast, into Idaho and Washington, and documented by many in Brookings, Salem, Portland, Coos Bay, Snohomish and into Nevada.

The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Medford noted this one resulted in a bright flash.

“The Global Lightning Mapper on NOAA satellite GOES-W saw it too, placing the flash roughly 50-75 miles above Lake County,” the NWS said. “Due to the curvature of the earth, the satellite plots the flash more to the north and east of where it actually occurred, which is likely more over central Lake County.”

Flash picked up by satellite / NWS

These two fireballs come on the heels of several others around the U.S. in recent weeks, such as in Pennsylvania (where pieces of the meteorite were actually found), one in Texas where a tiny piece hit a home, Wisconsin and others.

They are unrelated to each other, however, said NASA – though these events are both clumped closer together and more high-profile than usual.

“A fireball was observed by witnesses in the western U.S. on Sunday night, March 22,” said NASA on social, regarding the California sighting. “The meteor was first spotted above the California town of Chowchilla. It traveled south at 35,000 mph before disintegrating above Calflax. This fireball does not appear to be related to other recent bright meteors.”

Jim Todd, astronomy expert from Portland's OMSI, said the one above Oregon was definitely a green fireball, according to the video.

“A green fireball in the sky is often due to the presence of magnesium,” Todd said. “Magnesium is a metal that, when heated and vaporized in the Earth's atmosphere, emits a bright blue-green light. Nickel can also contribute to a green color, but magnesium is more commonly associated with green fireballs. “

Todd told Oregon Coast Beach Connection there is currently no meteor shower happening, so these are all outliers.

It was probably about the size of a basketball, he said – far different from the major one that made an explosive noise in Pennsylvania.

Some reported explosions with the one in California overnight. Both appeared to end in bright flashes, while the Oregon one could be seen leaving a long, smoldering trail.

From 2023, See Spectacular Green Fireball Lights Up Oregon Valley Through Washington Coast From bright white to a neon green: astronomers weigh in

“Meteors, also known as shooting stars, are small celestial objects that enter the Earth's atmosphere,” Todd said. “A fireball is a particularly bright meteor that can be seen from a distance of about 60 to 80 miles above. As a meteor travels through the atmosphere at high speeds, it creates friction, which heats the meteor and causes it to vaporize.”

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