A meteor bright enough to be classified as a fireball lit up the night sky over eastern North America, providing a spectacle witnessed in at least 13 states, Washington, DC and two Canadian provinces, the American Meteor Society said.

The society verified more than 300 witness sightings from Ontario and Quebec down to the southern U.S. state of North Carolina with more than 100 reports yet to be reviewed, said Mike Hankey, an observer for the American Meteor Society.

Southern New Jersey - Just after 3 o'clock Tuesday afternoon residents in Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland counties say they felt multiple earthquake-like tremors that rattled their homes and offices. Absecon resident, Kay Stadlmeir, said, "I don't think it would be an earthquake, but what could it be? It's just really odd." Somers Point resident, Bob Mower, explained, "There was a rattling of my windows and I felt the house shake just a little bit - it was unusual." Stadlmeir told NBC40, "It has to be something really big to be witnessed in such a widespread area of South Jersey."

The reports vary from region to region. Atlantic county emergency management officials confirmed with the U.S. Geological Survey that it was not an earthquake. The next thought was that military training or an aircraft flying by might have caused the shakes.

Both the 177th Fighter Wing in Egg Harbor Township and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst confirmed none of their aircrafts were in the area at that time. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is still working to confirm whether or not any ground training was happening at the time, although it is unlikely that would cause such a widespread shake.

Stadlmeir said, "I really don't think it's a sonic boom because, you know as I said before, I've experienced them before and this is nothing like that." Mower told NBC40, "That was real unusual. I almost wondered if I was dreaming on that one."

After initial reports of the shakes came in, NBC40 put the word out on Facebook to see who else felt it. Immediately we received hundreds of responses from all over South Jersey.

NASA chief Charles Bolden has advice on how to handle a large asteroid headed toward New York City: Pray.

That's about all the United States - or anyone for that matter - could do at this point about unknown asteroids and meteors that may be on a collision course with Earth, Bolden told lawmakers at a U.S. House of Representatives Science Committee hearing on Tuesday.

An asteroid estimated to be have been about 55 feet in diameter exploded on February 15 over Chelyabinsk, Russia, generating shock waves that shattered windows and damaged buildings. More than 1,500 people were injured.

Later that day, a larger, unrelated asteroid discovered last year passed about 17,200 miles from Earth, closer than the network of television and weather satellites that ring the planet.

The events "serve as evidence that we live in an active solar system with potentially hazardous objects passing through our neighborhood with surprising frequency," said Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, a Texas Democrat.

"We were fortunate that the events of last month were simply an interesting coincidence rather than a catastrophe," said Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican, who called the hearing to learn what is being done and how much money is needed to better protect the planet.

Initial Sighting Reports

Event 1 - approx. 10:08 p.m. EST

19 March 2013 - Chelsea, Louisville, Kentucky, USA 10:15 p.m. EST

About 5-8 seconds duration. Northwest direction. Moved to my left. The color was ELECTRIC BABY BLUE. It appeared to almost weave in and out like a sewing needle through fabric, which could have appeared that way because of a cloud or something. It was fast but slower than a shooting star and more "blob" like in motion. I'd say it was as bright as the moon. Areas of the sky surrounding this appeared brighter, and it produced a sound like a passing F-117 nighthawk.

19 March 2013 - Malissa, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA 10:08pm EST

2-3 seconds duration. It moved form my right to left. It had a blue tint and was brighter than the moon. It was bright white with a blueish trail, bigger then a star.

Emergency officials are looking into what could have caused a loud boom and flash of light around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday night. The mysterious event caused a flurry of comments on social media, including on the SmithtownRadio.com Facebook page.

SmithtownRadio.com calls into Suffolk police and other emergency officials all resulted in the same answer: no one is sure but the thought is the noise was a really loud clap of thunder with an associated lightning strike.

At 9:46 p.m., the National Weather Service issued a Special Weather Statement regarding a snow squall moving onshore near Northport. The squall - which is a quick-forming, storm cell much like a summertime pop-up thunderstorm - was expected to impact shoreline communities stretching eastward towards Port Jefferson Station. SmithtownRadio.com has received listener comments indicating the noise was heard from Kings Park to Nesconset and into Centereach.

Meteorologist Mike Leona, who is the Long Island Weather Examiner for examiner.com, posted on his Facebook page that he thought the mysterious noise was likely thunder - but he too could not say fore sure. In his post, he said lightning detectors at Sikorsky Airport in Bridgeport and Republic Airport in Farmingdale both detected activity in the area of the squall line.

Initial Reports

Ontario 21:10 EDT

17 March 2013 - Craig Moody, North Bay, Ontario, Canada 21:10 EST

Just saw a large beautiful meteor, duration was about 1.5 - 2.5 seconds. Very fast, travelling south to north (approx). Did not see any fragmentation, just a white bolide.

Quebec 23:00 EDT

17 March 2013 - Gilles Gaumont, Sainte-Julienne, Quebec, Canada 23:00 EST

6 Sec East-Southeast direction. Blue colour. Very bright, almost phosphorous. It left a long trail and was very bright white/blueish in colour. Slight sound.

Cleveland County, N.C. - There are several reports from Saturday night of a meteor gliding across the Carolina skies.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing a large bolide meteor that split into several pieces. First Warn Storm Spotter Stuart McDaniel caught it all on his sky camera.

McDaniel lives in Northern Cleveland County. In his video, the fast moving meteor moved rapidly across the sky growing bigger and bigger then fading away.

McDaniel isn't the only one who saw the meteor; the American Meteorologist Society received 55 reports about this fireball seen over Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Initial Meteor Sighting Reports

16 March 2013 - Dan Gordon, Cameron, North Carolina 21:00

5 seconds duration. South to Northwest direction. Very large and very bright through cloud haze. As bright as the moon.

16 March 2013 - Shawn Hanna, Goose Creek, South Carolina, USA 20:55 EST

2 seconds duration. East-West direction. White then Orange color at dissipation. Very bright white initially - like a large star. I was traveling North-Northwest and it came across from the East, falling at about a 45 degree angle.

16 March 2013 - KRStanley, Rock Hill, South Carolina 20:50

4 seconds duration. It was directly overhead. I was walking north. It had a very bright sphere with a tail. Colors of reds and blues. As bright as the moon. It was very bright in the sky and disappeared just above the horizon.

Initial meteor sighting reports

14 March 2013 - Adam Copland, Whitwood, Castleford, England 21:35 GMT

13 seconds duration. It went from my left to right. It was bright white, same brightness as a lightbulb with no casing. I was sat at my desk when something caught my eye out of the window. I rushed to the window and saw what I believe a meteor flying through the sky.

14 March 2013 - Johnnie, Islington, Exeter, United Kingdom 21:31 GMT

1second duration. North-Northwest direction. Green/orange ball with long blue tail. Brighter than the moon, but smaller No fragmention, but it was stunning and instantaneous. My son & I saw it. It was fast. Wow.

14 March 2013 - Andy Bedford, England 21:30

1 second duration. N-S direction, I was west facing. Green colour. As bright as Venus. It appeared to break up before losing brightness. It was quite spectacular, I hope others saw it!!

Initial Fireball Sighting Reports

14 March 2013 - Evelin Perez, Somerville, New Jersey, USA 19:50

3-4 seconds duration. North, from right to left. Blue, white, yellow colors. Very bright, big fireball.

14 March 2013 - Brenda Grant, Lowell, Massachusetts 7:49pm

5-10 seconds duration. North direction. White colour, as bright as the sun. Very bright and white in color, I saw it a little above the horizon.

14 March 2013 - Ala., Glenwood, New Jersey 19:45

4 to 5 seconds duration. East direction. White color, as bright as the moon! Yes, I saw fragmentation, biggest meteor ever!