Shaking in South Jersey this afternoon was not from an earthquake

UPDATE: The U.S. Department of Defense says today’s sonic booms were likely caused by Naval F-35C jets doing supersonic test flights. Read here.

UPDATE: The shaking was due to multiple sonic booms, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Read here.

Some residents of South Jersey reported this afternoon another round of ground shaking — the second since last November. 

“Felt the earth move under my feet in Toms River,” reported Taneil Sharkey at 1:38 p.m. today on JSHN.

In Mystic Island, Roman Isaryk says the shaking “lasted about 10 seconds,” adding that there are reports from around the area. 

(Click here to see the reports on JSHN.)

But it wasn’t due to an earthquake.

According to the United States Geological Survey, there were no tremors registered today in New Jersey or throughout the region.

Ground rattles are also common during training exercises at the Joint Base in Ocean County, but there was no scheduled activity there today.

As of 2:00 p.m., it is not known what triggered today’s incident. 

Shaking reports have recently become a yearly event, with some commenting that the ubiquity of social media raises awareness. 

In October 2012, a sonic boom was deemed the culprit of ground shaking felt at the Jersey Shore. In February 2014, another sonic boomrattled the same area. 

In the hours after the 2014 incident, John Bellini, a geophysicist with the USGS, told NewsWorks that seismometers only detect vibrations within the ground.

“Air blasts and super sonic booms don’t get recorded,” he said. “So if it’s a sonic boom, thunder, or a transformer exploding, there’s no chance of recording it unless it occurs right near the seismometer.”

The last earthquake felt at the Jersey Shore was in August 2011.