Mystery Rumbling Shakes Bucks County, Philly Area, Report Says

There were reports of widespread shaking throughout the Philadelphia region on Wednesday, but specific details on the incident or its cause remain unknown.

It doesn’t appear to have been an earthquake, as the U.S. Geological Survey didn't report any earthquake activity in New Jersey or Pennsylvania for Wednesday, Oct. 25.

Many speculated it was a sonic boom. Last year, two similar incidents were reported in South Jersey. In both cases, they were caused by sonic booms from military craft flying out of the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in eastern Maryland.

That also doesn’t appear to be the case this time, though, as a public affairs officer from the base told The Press of Atlantic City there was no aircraft flying in the area this morning. According to the report, it may have been an inversion, which happens when a layer of warmer air sits over a layer of cooler air, magnified the sound of an aircraft that was miles away.

According to 6ABC, residents in Philadelphia, Bucks County and South Jersey reported the rumbling.

Some Patch readers took to Facebook to post about their experiences.

"I was home alone and I thought someone was upstairs it was that loud," a Gloucester Township, N.J. resident posted on Facebook. "I kept checking the house out to see if something fell over or if something was failing but nothing."

Others wrote that their screen door shook for about 1-2 minutes, and wondered why their windows were rattling. The shaking was felt from Gibbsboro down to Cape May.

"It felt like an earthquake," a Moorestown, N.J. resident posted on Facebook.

Did you feel it? What do you think it was? Let us know in the comments section below.

Patch file photo