Meteor lights up sky over Windsor-Essex, triggers minor 'earthquake' in Michigan

The United States Geological Survey has confirmed that a bright flash of light followed by a booming sound spotted in Windsor-Essex was a meteor that broke up over the Detroit area.

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 Social media across the region lit up with videos of the burning space matter Tuesday night around 8:10 p.m.

"After reviewing several observational data sets, the NWS can confirm the flash and boom was NOT thunder or lightning, but instead a likely meteor," tweeted the National Weather Service office in Detroit.

That message was followed by another social media post pointing to a report from the United States Geological Survey, which stated the meteorite fell about eight kilometres from New Haven, Mich., and registered a 2.0 magnitude earthquake in Michigan.

People on both sides of the border shared stories online of seeing the meteor fall and how it felt when it shook their homes.

Windsor resident Maya Banner was about to let her dog out at her home in the city's south end when something sent tremors through her legs.

"It actually scared me because it sounded like somebody was on my deck," she explained. "I can only describe it as pulling my barbecue across the wooden planks, you know how you feel that in your legs ... like a rumble?"

Across the city, Carlie Williams was just pulling out of her driveway when a sudden bright light temporarily blinded her. She kept driving, then suddenly heard a loud "boom."

"It was like a literal flash, almost like from a camera or a big flash of lightning," she said. "The sound came a couple minutes afterwards. It was delayed."

Both women said they felt lucky to experience the meteor.

"I've never even seen a shooting star before, so this was really something spectacular," said Williams.