Mysterious booms rattle coast area

A pair of booms rumbled the coast shortly before noon Thursday, from Isle of Palms to Folly Beach and as far inland as North Charleston. No earthquake was detected and local military bases said no training or supersonic flights were in the area that would cause sonic booms.

The reverberations most likely came from the mysterious “Seneca Guns,” a so-far-unexplained phenomenon felt along coasts around the world.

Some experts speculate that the booms are caused by gases released from the sea floor, or undersea landslides along the Continental Shelf, or the echoed sound of distant thunder, or lightning-like electrical discharges, or even meteors crashing into the atmosphere at angles.

The booms popped the skylights and rattled through Will Haynie’s house in Mount Pleasant like the reverberation of a closely passing heavy truck, he said. But he didn’t feel it in the floor. “Both of them were big, loud rumbles. It was like a rumble that was atmospheric, if that makes any sense,” he said.

More than 20 people on Twitter reported feeling the booms.

Small quakes and other booms are regular occurrences in the Lowcountry, where a series of faults converge underground. Summerville recently has experienced a series of small quakes.