Suspected meteor shakes houses across metro Detroit

It sounded like thunder with a flash of light, shaking homes at about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday across metro Detroit. But experts say this wasn't lightning.

"It looks like from videos and reports we've gotten (that it's a) meteor," said Jordan Dale, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in White Lake. "However, we cannot confirm it's a meteor. At this point, we're just sticking to what we know — and it was not thunder or lightning or weather-related."

The weather service by about 9 p.m. had already received dozens of reports, ranging from Flint to Toledo.

Multiple images were posted of night skies being lit up, as social media exploded with people reporting what they saw or heard.

"It's certainly a rare occurrence," Dale said, adding that they're working to determine the cause.

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Fred Levine e-mailed that he was sitting in his living room in Commerce Township at about 8:19 p.m. when he saw what appeared to be lightning outside his west-facing front door.

Facebook user Claire Ceresnie posted this comment: "In Livonia I saw a big flash in the northwestern sky above my house. I thought maybe I've been watching too much sci-fi on Netflix."

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And Facebook user Carol Peck Kazmierski posted: "Saw a fireball in the sky and then a couple minutes later there was a loud boom and the house shook. Grosse Ile."

Redford Township police issued this alert: "The loud flash and rumble did not occur in Redford. Please do not tie up 911 ..."

Contact Robert Allen on Twitter @rallenMI or rallen@freepress.com.