The U.S. Geological Survey unofficially confirmed Thursday afternoon that multiple reports of a possible quake or series of tremors in counties along the New Jersey coast were likely attributable to a sonic boom that occurred in nearby Hammonton in Atlantic County.
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Since many have asked: A sonic boom travels through the air w/ the airplane so it arrives at different ground locations at different times. USGS officials finally identified the cause of the “tremors” as a sonic boom near Hammonton.
Local police initially received reports of an natural disaster from residents of the affected areas, but authorities said the movement was not from seismic activity.
According to Newsday, a southern New Jersey USGS station reported the first sound wave in New Jersey at about 1:23 p.m.; shortly after, the shock waves were felt as far north as Long Island and CT. I felt a couple of smaller shakes over the next 60 to 75 minutes.
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The cause of the sonic boom has not yet been determined. There was a sonic boom reported in New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland two years ago, and another one in the region in 2012.
