Likely meteor streaks over Buffalo; many heard a rumble

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It was a little early for skywatchers, but thanks to doorbell cameras, there's plenty of proof that it happened.

What appeared to be a meteor streaked across the Southeast sky early Wednesday morning at approximately 5:11 a.m.

Jay Janca of Hamburg providing Nest camera video of the cosmic event.

While many didn't see it, they heard a boom or felt a rumble.

"There was an initial 'kabang'. And then a two-second rumble," said Michael of West Seneca. "And then it echoed or vibrated after. It was pretty scary. I was asking my friends about it and they told me I was nuts."

WBEN and WKBW meteorologist Aaron Mentkowski says he received reports from Grand Island to Westfield from people who heard it or felt it, or their pets were acting strangely.

"It wasn't weather related," he said. "There was no thunder or lightning, and we checked the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no earthquakes. That's when we saw lots of people talking about a meteor."

One person who lives near Orchard Park and the Town of Boston told us they thought a tree hit their house and went outside to look.

Meteors are streaks of light visible in the night sky when a space rock (shooting star) enters Earth's atmosphere at high speed and burns up. They generally last from 2-to-5 seconds.

Skies were clear to partly cloudy early Wednesday morning.