No, the Wasatch Front didn’t just have another earthquake. Here’s what we know.
Oct 27, 2020, 12:15 PM | Updated: 2:48 pm
University of Utah Seismograph layout of recent shakes along the Wasatch Front.
SALT LAKE CITY– Residents across the Wasatch Front reported feeling a shake and/or a boom on Tuesday, just before lunchtime.
Utahns from Sandy to Layton felt something no one has been able to confirm yet. Was it an earthquake or aftershock? Routine military drills from Hill Air Force Base? An ammunition explosion? Something caused by the Utah National Guard?
Did anyone else just feel an earthquake in the Sandy Utah area? #utahearthquake #utah
— Danny Kourianos (@DKourianos) October 27, 2020
However, The University of Utah Seismograph Station confirms the shaking was not an earthquake and is consistent with a sonic boom.
A sonic boom is created when shock waves from an object travel faster than the speed of sound. Sonic booms generate a great amount of sound energy, creating a sound similar to a loud boom, explosion or thunderclap to the human ear.
CONFIRMED: It was not an earthquake felt across the Wasatch Front. https://t.co/PpAvAfV2i2
— KSL NewsRadio (@kslnewsradio) October 27, 2020
“We have received several reports of shaking this morning around ~11:20am.
We can confirm it was not an earthquake.
While we did pick up some shaking signals, the signal we recorded is consistent with an atmospheric source, such as a sonic boom.
— UUSS (@UUSSquake) October 27, 2020
And it turns out… Hill Air Force Base was probably the cause of the supposed sonic boom. The 388th Fighter Wing says the boom most likely occurred during ariel combat training on the range past the west side of Salt Lake City.
The sonic boom was caused by pilots traveling at supersonic speeds, which is allowed in certain areas of the range’s airspace.
Not an earthquake – but a sonic boom! https://t.co/dRrqCKMIhB
— KSL NewsRadio (@kslnewsradio) October 27, 2020
Did you feel the shake?
Related: See all of Utah’s quakes with our KSL Earthquake Tracker
