Social media was alight Tuesday with videos that appeared to show a fireball blazing through the night sky above highways of southeast Michigan, and flashes of blue and orange light over settled snow.
As witness accounts — as well as surveillance and car dash camera footage — made the rounds, The National Weather Service Detroit (NWSD) wrote on Twitter that the flashes and bangs were “likely” a meteor, not thunder and lightning.
NWSD later confirmed that a meteor had occurred, citing the U.S. Geological Survey. It blew up over Detroit with enough force to register as a 2.0 earthquake, National Public Radio reports.
The Ingham County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said in a Facebook post that the sighting was “a natural meteor fireball,” urging people not to call 911.
Read more: A Mysterious Object Flying Past the Sun Is Our First Confirmed Visitor From Another Solar System
Here’s how people reacted when night turned to day over Detroit.
- Taylor Swift Is TIME's 2023 Person of the Year
- Meet the Nation Builders
- Why Cell Phone Reception Is Getting Worse
- Column: It's Time to Scrap the Abraham Accords
- Israeli Family Celebrates Release of Hostage Grandmother
- In a New Movie, Beyoncé Finds Freedom
- The Top 100 Photos of 2023
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time