Image: Patrick Tie Fair / The skies above British Columbia lit up Tuesday night (Mar. 3) due to a meteor.

By The Canadian Press

Fireball, sonic boom over Vancouver Tuesday evening, likely meteor

Mar 4, 2026 | 12:31 AM

British Columbians took to social media Tuesday evening to share reports of a bright fireball in the night sky over Vancouver, and a house-rattling sonic boom.

All indications suggest the region was witness to a significant meteor, scientifically known as a bolide.

Bolides are typically chunks of rock or ice, from asteroids or comets, that burn brightly in Earth’s atmosphere before exploding.

The incident happened shortly after 9 p.m. Pacific time, with the sonic boom strong enough to register on multiple area seismographs, which measure and record ground motion, vibrations and seismic waves.

On social media, people have also been sharing webcam footage showing the sky brightening, from one horizon to the other, as the suspected meteor soars above the clouds.

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Witness reports say the flash was seen over a long range, while the sonic boom could be heard from the Fraser Valley to Washington State.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2026.

The Canadian Press