Videos show bright fireball over Northern California sky Sunday

An apparent meteor lit up the skies over Northern California over the weekend, drawing hundreds of reports from viewers across the region.

The fireball streaked across the sky a little after 8 p.m. Sunday. As captured by several videos and described in numerous reports, the fireball streaked for around five seconds and burned bright green.

The sighting comes as part of a recent surge in meteor activity nationwide. Over the past week, three meteorites have been spotted across the country — including one in Ohio, another in Houston and now the latest over California's Central Valley.

More than 200 people reported seeing a fireball around that time, according to the American Meteor Society, with most sightings in California and others in Arizona and Nevada.

The American Meteor Society said reports placed sightings as far north as Willits, east toward Carson City and as far south as San Diego County. Several videos of the apparent meteor were shared with the organization and posted on social media.

Experts say the object was likely a meteor.

"It can be anywhere from 35,000 miles an hour to 50,000 miles an hour," said Douglas Christensen with the Stockton Astronomical Society. "It's just fast."

Christensen noted that small pieces of space debris regularly enter Earth's atmosphere, with an estimated 400 tons of material falling to Earth every day — most of it burning up before reaching the ground.

No known meteor showers – periods where meteor activity spikes – were going on at the time of Sunday's event, with the Lyrids being the next expected active meteor shower starting on April 17.

While March is not typically known for major meteor showers, experts say this event could be tied to a period sometimes referred to as "February fireballs," when brighter-than-average meteors can still appear into early spring.

Experts say the best way to catch a similar sight is to find a dark area away from city lights and keep an eye on the night sky.