Twitter ignited Tuesday night after users reported hearing a “boom” in southeastern Michigan and began sharing videos of what appeared to be a meteor flaring in the night sky.
The National Weather Service confirmed the flash and boom was not thunder or lightning "but instead a likely meteor."
The U.S. Geological Survey said a meteor blew up over the Detroit area Tuesday night with enough force to register as a 2.0 earthquake, NPR reported.
Law enforcement agencies in the area asked witnesses to stop calling 911 to report the meteor, saying they were tying up the phone lines. Ingham County’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said it received multiple calls about 7:30 p.m.
“There is no need to call 911,” the agency said in a Facebook post. “It's a natural meteor fireball.”
The American Meteor Society’s website was “overloaded” after the celestial event.
U.S. & World
“Major event in Michigan. Server is getting overloaded. We'll be back asap, check back soon,” the crashed site reads. It also suggests if a fireball was seen it should be reported at fireballs.imo.net.
Twitter users and brands were quick to share video and reports of the fireball that was reportedly seen in Illinois, Michigan, Canada and Ohio.
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