Did You Hear the Big Boom Friday Night in Connecticut?

By Pem McNerney and Cassandra Day

Did you hear a big boom Friday at 10 p.m.? You're not alone. So did TV Meteorologist for Fox CT (WTIC) Dan Amarante, who Tweeted about it last night. 

Thought I heard thunder in Middletown, CT at about 10pm. Checked the radar and storms weren't in the state yet. Currently confused.  

Amarante instantly received a number of responses from his followers on Twitter: 
Kaitlyn: I thought I heard some earlier too, and we're getting reports of large boom in Greater New Haven, trying to track it down.
Michael: Same thing here in Guilford. Heard it was felt from Milford to Madison on the scanner. Strange! 
loopy: Heard a loud bang here in North Haven 1/2 hr ago. Thought it was thunder Dan, but I know the storms are still in NY. 
Marie: I heard it too in Wallingford, even the dog was barking! 
Brian: heard it in Hamden too. Thought thunder but storm seems too far off. Any news?

• Large boom sound heard around 10 PM April 20, Smithtown, Pa.
• Did You Hear the Boom Sounds in the Tri-Valley? Dublin, Calif., April 18
• Loud 'Boom' Heard at Stow-Kent Border Sunday Night March 31, Ohio
• Nightly Boom Mystifies Ramona Residents on Feb. 27 
• You're Not Crazy, Mystery Explosion Caught on Video on Jan. 8 in Salem, Mass.

A comment on Feb. 1 from Hank, offered an intriguing answer: Check out this video on the Booms and Earthquake on the East coast, possible answer to your questions." 

It was published on Jan. 31: "Booms COVER UP! Due to New Madrid WAKING UP! In depth evidence!" The author consulted the U.S. Geological Survey website, which reads:  

Earthquake "booms" have been reported for a long time, and they tend to occur more in the Northeastern US and along the East Coast. Of course, most "booms" that people hear or experience are actually some type of cultural noise, such as some type of explosion, a large vehicle going by, or sometimes a sonic boom, but there have been many reports of "booms" that cannot be explained by man-made sources. No one knows for sure, but scientists speculate that these "booms" are probably small shallow earthquakes that are too small to be recorded, but large enough to be felt by people nearby.   
Our neighbors in south central Connecticut heard the boom Friday night, too. Madison 911 Communications Center numerous calls from people reporting what sounded like an explosion shortly after 10 p.m. Friday, according to a post on Facebook, " ... along shoreline neighborhoods and as far north as County Road and Guilford Lakes. Also getting reports of the same thing as far west as West Haven and Milford. Anybody know what happened???" 

The post on the Madison 911 Communications Center Facebook page quickly received responses from people as far inland as Haddam. 

• Suzanne Novak, from Madison, reported that it shook her house in Legend Hill. 
• People living on the shoreline in Clinton reported hearing it as well. 

While it may have been thunder, many people reported that it was just one boom, and that it shook the ground, making it sound like an explosion. 

And, with the entire country riveted by the tragedy earlier this week in Boston, and the drama that unfolded today as one bombing suspect was killed and another captured, explosions were on everyone's minds, perhaps making them more apt to report something out of the ordinary to 911.  

The National Weather Service did say that conditions were ripe for a thunderstorm Friday night.  

Here is the overnight forecast:  

The American Meteor Society website did not log any reports of that overnight, but we have an inquiry in to them to see if this might be a plausible explanation for the sound.  
Several calls came into dispatch centers other than Madison, including Connecticut State Troopers at Troop F in Westbrook, and other shoreline towns, according to the responses on the Madison 911 inquiry.  
Around 11 p.m., Madison 911 followed up with this information:  

"Just to reiterate: We've investigated and checked in with several other agencies (including on Long Island)... many other towns getting similar reports of a single loud "boom," no reports of light flashes or power outages in the area. Our best guess is that this was a huge thunder clap. Mother nature playing tricks on us while we're already on edge." 

What do you think? Did you hear it? Where and when? Tell us in the comments below.