Explosive "Boom" Heard in Six Michigan Counties

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

there was a report of a blue green fireball over socal.

fox5sandiego.com...

Maybe we passed through a meteor shower?

Or it was aliens.

originally posted by: Gothmog
Could this have a natural explanation. In the early 2000s I was awoken by a loud boom .After the boom the house and everything in it shook for 2 minutes. Everyone knows the first thing I thought of

. But later on in the day I heard on the news it was an earthquake. Of course I was in disbelief at first. An earthquake in Georgia ? But then I remembered the shaking.

After that I did some research. Some theories state the "boom quake" is another type of earthquake previously unknown or marked as a mysterious event and nothing more came from it.

Earthquake Booms

Noise during earthquakes is mostly due to the sound of structures suddenly shifting during the initial Primary or "P" waves moving under buildings and structures. The initial ripple of P waves is supersonic, like picking up a house a few inches and setting it back down-- Bang! The sound of that inside a structure can be extremely loud.

Outside, away from man made structures, the passing of Primary shock waves are silent to the ear.

The conclusion its an earthquake and not another source like aircraft braking the sound barrier or an incoming meteor, is bolstered by the deeper rocking and rolling that follows [P]rimary shock waves.

P waves

This was the boom heard near pittsburgh pa..

pittsburgh.cbslocal.com...

To add. No I didn't hear it.

To add a little more however going back to 2 nights in nov,2015.
A friend and I were watching TV when we heard what sounded like 5 seconds of a fire works grand finale... I ran outside both times to see where it was coming from. As soon as the booms stopped there was the sound of a plane headed away at high speeds. No aircraft were landing or taking off at that time.😕

a reply to: intrptr
The link describes the P Waves and how they figure in to the Bang Quake. This bang is caused directly from the P waves emanating from a very shallow depth. At least the theory goes...

I remember Obama boom in Seattle when a Sesna got in his elbow space, I thought my driveway exploded. a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

a reply to: Gothmog

Your link or the one I provided? I'm speaking from life time of quake experience in California, SF Bay.

Quakes are silent. Noise comes from man made structures, during quakes…

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Interesting how the military said it wasn't them and has no viable answer. That pretty much rules that out. Possible meteor? Or some other unknown object or unnatural condition?

I currently live in north-eastern part of Michigan, and heard a loud "boom" last August. There was no explanation for it, but everyone in my neighborhood experienced it, and a couple car alarms went off. It felt like a bomb went off in my basement, and I honestly thought something happened to the water tank. It scared the hell outta me; that was the first and last time I've heard anything like that.

a reply to: Raevynn

I've heard sonic booms up in Alpena and Oscoda before. They regularly host F-16s in Alpena during the summer. They do a lot of training in the Pike East over land and Pike West MOAs and R-4207 out over the lake.

originally posted by: Staroth
a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Interesting how the military said it wasn't them and has no viable answer. That pretty much rules that out. Possible meteor? Or some other unknown object or unnatural condition?

Well, one report claimed . . .

According to the Michigan National Guard, there are no planes fast enough and based in Michigan that can create a sonic boom. It is possible that a supersonic jet from another state is conducting military exercises in this area.

and the other report added . . .

The Evart Fire and Police Department says military jets were the source . . . We reached out to the FAA and the National Guard, who are looking into what happened.

So technically it was the Michigan National Guard and the FAA who basically said that they didn't know anything. Nothing is really ruled out because of that, plus they claim another state could be conducting exercises here. However, I do wonder if they were chasing something.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

More than likely it was something coming home from overseas.

Well damn I'm in the GR area and didn't hear s# go boom Thursday morning here.

FYI, there was a nice bright meteor spotted going westward over the LP last week. Don't write off bolides just because you want it to be exciting, spooky military ish instead, folks.

a reply to: intrptr

Noise during earthquakes is mostly due to the sound of structures suddenly shifting during the initial Primary or "P" waves moving under buildings and structures. The initial ripple of P waves is supersonic, like picking up a house a few inches and setting it back down-- Bang! The sound of that inside a structure can be extremely loud.

I lived in CA for a while several years ago. I did experience a small quake like that. We didn't experience any of the shaking normally associated with a quake. But it sounded like a truck ran into the side of the building when it hit.

In looking at the USGS Earthquake Map it doesn't show anything in the Michigan area. Do these "Earthquake Booms" not register in the same way that other quakes do?

-dex

a reply to: DexterRiley

But it sounded like a truck ran into the side of the building when it hit.

Boom… everyone inside a building hears that initial sound. Its the first inkling something is up. You freeze, listen. Then the s waves arrive, the rolling motion (motion on the ocean). A lot depends on strength of magnitude, sub surface geology, your response.

If your quake was light you may not have felt that unless you stay still after the first wave. A good 'sanity' check is to look at a hanging lamp or plant. If they are moving in the slightest, its a quake.

You can make your own seismic detector by hanging a fishing weight from a piece of string or fishing line from the ceiling. You can also look at glass win dows , they flex at the slightest vibration. Get a view of a pane of glass angle on where you can see the light reflecting from them, a warping or bowing of the glass back and forth… quake.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

More than likely it was something coming home from overseas.

I'd say that out of all the possibilities we have explored this one from Zaphod seems to fit the scenario the best.

a reply to: intrptr

Back in the 80s I was going to a community college that had these underground hallways (tunnels between buildings). A design instructor sent me down there to salvage some old desks to re-purpose for computer desks. Anyway, the tunnels being off limits to students made this a good opportunity to explore. While I was down there, Michigan experienced a rare earthquake, a small one, but not all that far from the college. I heard a large boom down there that sounded like a 2 ton block of steel was dropped on the floor. When I came out, everyone was talking about the EQ that just happened. Most didn't feel it, some thought it was like a large trunk driving by, but I actually "heard" it.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Most didn't feel it, some thought it was like a large trunk driving by, but I actually "heard" it.

What you heard was everything man made down there shifting all at once. Imagine all that stuff down there being hit with a big hammer all at the same time.

Like, for instance, another comparison. A Tsunami wave at sea doesn't make any sound, its a 'tiny' swell that moves by under the boat at hundreds of miles per hour, only when it hits shore and crashes does it make noise.

The passing of initial ripples of a quake behave the same way. They move at or near the speed of sound, only being noticed if the quake is substantial and the height of the P waves sufficient to get your attention.

Otherwise, the only thing you will hear is the sound of structures and stuff inside them shifting all at once,

Further: Neat experience in the tunnels, thanks for sharing that. Spooky old underground tunnels and an earthquake? Double stuff…

Here is another report by WZZM CH13 News that gives the best possible cause.

HOWARD CITY, Mich. (WZZM) -- The Ohio National Guard confirms that it had F-16s flying in Michigan on Thursday . . . Friday afternoon, the Ohio National Guard said its 180th Fighter Wing, based out of Toledo, Ohio, does training in Michigan. The public affairs officer told WZZM 13's Sarah Sell that she hasn't been able to confirm the sonic boom but says the F-16s are capable of producing them and they were in the area . . . The weather could have been a factor, too; the public affairs officer said the noise likely traveled farther and seemed louder due to the sound being pushed down because of cold temperatures. That could explain the vibrations being felt by people in their homes.

F-16 jets from Ohio likely caused sonic boom

Notice however, that they still haven't confirmed that the sonic boom actually occurred or that the Ohio National Guard's planes caused this.

a reply to: intrptr

I would call it a case of sympathetic vibration being what I "heard", like you say, the waves shift the structure around you and that is what you hear. Being under ground in long tunnels undoubtedly amplified the effect by picking up on the long length of the waves. Also consider that long waves travel well underground with rocks, soil and water as the conductive medium. Being extremely long length waves, I didn't actually heard the EQ, but rather the shock wave as an acoustic artifact, that is why I wrote "heard" in quotations.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I was outside during the '89 Loma Prieta quake, initially in a car on the road but everyone stopped and got out when it struck. The deep rolling (difficult to stand) was eerily quiet, except for the sound of breaking glass and car alarms in far off parking lots.

That was eery, never forget it either.

Quakes are sudden and neat to survive. I also realized at once it was serious enough people were dying. Thats not fun.