The earthquake was reported at 6:15 a.m. Seismologist Yaareb Altaweel said it matched the intensity of the strongest earthquake the region has seen in 40 years of available records - a 3.8 quake that was recorded in November 1999.
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Earthquakes Canada had first reported that they registered the quake at 4.2 magnitudes and said it was felt slightly in southern Ontario.
The epicenter of the earthquake was found to be in West Seneca. That's southeast of the City of Buffalo.
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Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz tweeted, "Just off the phone with @ErieCountyESU Dep. Commissioner Butcher who confirmed quake was felt as far north as Niagara Falls and south to Orchard Park from initial reports. It felt like a car hit my house in Buffalo. I jumped out of bed."
Governor Kathy Hochul noted that no major damage was reported.
Small earthquakes are not unusual in upstate New York but are rarely felt as strongly. The earthquake comes on the heels of two record-breaking weather events in the region: A snowstorm that dropped as much as 7 feet of snow in November and a blizzard in December that is blamed for 47 deaths.
The western New York earthquake occurred hours after a powerful quake killed thousands in Turkey and Syria. A USGS spokesperson said there is no connection between the two events.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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