Mysterious Boom, Shaking In NJ Wasn't A Quake, But What Was It?

NEW JERSEY — Many people in south and central New Jersey reported feeling the ground shake and hearing a boom Tuesday afternoon.

The odd tremor and noise were reported in a number of counties. Reddit users in Burlington, Middlesex, Salem, Ocean, Cape May, Camden and Mercer counties reported in Tuesday afternoon; some said they felt the shaking more than once.

This mysterious occurrence sparked a day of conversation and speculation: What on earth was that?

The National Weather Service said the sound and sensation were not weather-related, "as far as we are aware." And the U.S. Geological Survey has not reported any earthquakes over magnitude 2.5 anywhere near New Jersey for Tuesday.

A clue to the explanation may be in the past. This isn't the first time this has happened; in 2016, much of the Jersey shore was rattled by what the USGS attributed to a sonic boom.

A sonic boom, according to NASA, is "a thunder-like noise a person on the ground hears when an aircraft or other type of aerospace vehicle flies overhead faster than the speed of sound, or "'supersonic.'"

Media outlets including the Cape May County Herald, the Press of Atlantic City and NJ.com reported on the sound and sensation as well.

The Federal Aviation Administration told the Herald it had no record of a sonic boom Tuesday.

A Maryland naval air station sometimes conducts exercises southwest of Cape May County, which can cause sonic booms. A representative for the station told all three outlets there were no supersonic flights in the area Tuesday.

The Air Force base in Burlington County has not released a statement about any supersonic flights or tests, according to NJ.com.

Spokespeople at Atlantic City Air National Base, Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia, and Dover Air Force Base in Delaware told the Cape May County Herald they did not have any flights that would cause a supersonic boom.