Meteor over Lake Michigan lights up sky in Chicago area

AP / SUN-TIMES - A meteor over Lake Michigan lit up the sky Monday morning across several states in the Midwest.

Dashcam video from police cruisers in Wisconsin and Illinois captured the fireball streaking through the night about 1:30 a.m. In addition to Illinois and Wisconsin, the American Meteor Society lists sightings in Indiana, Michigan and other states as well.

Meteorologist Jeff Last of the National Weather Service's office in Green Bay, Wisconsin, says the meteor was accompanied by a sonic boom that shook houses in the region.

Last says radar shows the meteor passing over Lake Michigan, but he said it's not clear if it landed in the water or if it broke up in the sky.

While Lisle police officer Jim Dexter was on patrol at 1:25 a.m. he noticed a meteor in the sky and realized he was lucky enough to have the dashboard camera on his patrol car record the sighting.

“In this profession, we see so many things that the public doesn’t get too see. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes that’s bad. I’m just glad that in this instance I was able to capture this for everyone to see,” Dexter said in a statement.