Sonic boom rocks east coast

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]A massive boom rattled New England over the weekend, jolting people across three states.

[00:00:05]This just days after a similar incident shook South Carolina. NBC's Aaron Gilchrist reports.

[00:00:12]>> New England rattled by a mysterious boom.

[00:00:18]A deafening blast even setting birds a flutter.

[00:00:23]Captured by cameras and heard across Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.

[00:00:28]Prompting calls to 911.

[00:00:30]>> So, we're getting calls from multiple locations, but nothing confirmed. As an explosion.

[00:00:35]>> An afternoon of arts and crafts interrupted for Bianca de Lorenzo and her kids outside Providence.

[00:00:42]>> The heck was that?

[00:00:43]>> Talk to me about your reaction. I mean, I saw the video that you posted.

[00:00:46]>> We actually thought a tree fell on our roof.

[00:00:49]Um so, my husband ran outside and he's like, "There's nothing."

[00:00:53]>> NOAA satellites picking up bright flashes around the time of the boom.

[00:00:56]Some weather experts think it may have been a meteor or exploding in the atmosphere. NASA confirming to NBC News a fireball over Massachusetts at 2:06 p.m. today. Adding the energy released at breakup is estimated to be equivalent to about 300 tons of TNT, which accounts for the loud booms.

[00:01:18]This thunderous noise coming less than 48 hours after a similar situation baffled residents across South Carolina.

[00:01:27]The US Geological Survey saying that cacophony was consistent with a sonic boom, where an object like a jet travels faster than the speed of sound.

[00:01:37]For now, silence simply shattered by sounds from the skies.

[00:01:43]Aaron Gilchrist, NBC News.