Unexplained shaking, banging, and rumbling reported in South Jersey Monday afternoon

Social media platforms lit up Monday afternoon with unexplained reports of shaking, banging, and rumbling from residents across Atlantic and Cape May Counties.

But what exactly was it?

These were just some of the comments that we were able to find on Facebook:

• Egg Harbor Township: That was a big rumple !! (Off of Ocean Heights and Steelmanville)

• Egg Harbor Township: I heard it too. I'm by Littles ice cream

• Galloway Township: Felt it in Galloway also.

People also reported hearing and/or feeling it in Linwood, Northfield, and beyond.

It was NOT an earthquake

The U.S. Geological Survey has not reported any earthquakes anywhere near New Jersey today. In fact, the closest quake to South Jersey was a 3.0 in Kansas earlier this morning.

The last "big" earthquake that was felt across New Jersey was that 4.8 centered in Hunterdon County about a year ago. Folks from one end of the Garden State to the other got to experience that one.

Sonic booms and the Atlantic Test Track

This is certainly not the first time that South Jersey has experienced house-shaking and loud booms. Almost always, they are attributed to military aircraft flying at high speeds, even if those jets are nowhere near the Jersey shore.

Back in 2023, folks in South Jersey felt a big boom and an official explanation came from Naval Air Station Patuxent in Maryland, which referenced the "Atlantic Test Track."

That is a strip of airspace off of the coast that parallels the Delmarva Peninsula. Certain atmospheric conditions make it possible for sound from sonic booms to travel from there. And they can travel quite far — dozens of miles in many cases.

And, yes, those sonic booms can shake and rattle things in your house, even if you don't hear a jet flying right overhead.

While Naval Air Station Patuxent has not said if any aircraft that they specifically control had anything to do with this afternoon's booms, the "test track" seems to be a likely explanation since it happens so frequently around here and given the number of military installations surrounding South Jersey.

Or we can just say it was aliens or something...