Readers Say
The sonic boom was heard Saturday afternoon through Greater Boston and beyond, prompting lots of theories from confused residents.
May 31, 2026 | 7:20 PM
2 minutes to read
Saturday’s big boom caused quite the commotion, and the bizarre incident immediately sparked many theories.
At about 2:11 p.m., residents across eastern Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, and northern parts of Rhode Island and Connecticut reported hearing what sounded like a massive explosion. Later that afternoon, meteorologists determined that the culprit was a bolide, a type of meteor, entering the atmosphere.
The sonic boom prompted residents to check with friends, neighbors, and emergency services, all of whom had ideas but no conclusive answers. Boston.com asked readers where they were when the boom happened, whether they heard or felt it, and what they thought it was.
Out of 285 responses, 253 readers (89 percent) said they heard or felt something. Among those who noticed the boom, here’s what they thought happened:
Some of the following responses have been edited slightly for length and clarity.
“I thought we was getting bombed. The whole house shook, the dogs were going crazy, our parakeet was bouncing all around the cage.”
-Tippy, East Boston
“Around 2:10, I heard a boom so loud, it was audible through my noise-canceling headphones and I felt it in my chest. The ground shook simultaneously. Everyone in my house was startled.”
-Alexander, Norfolk
“Entire three-family house shook and the boom was so loud! I thought the house was collapsing.”
-Melinda, Cambridge
“I was driving in Watertown and I thought someone rear-ended me. The person who was behind me stopped, got out, and looked at the back of her car too and we were just so confused. Then, a woman came out of her house and said she also heard a loud boom.”
-Michelle, Needham
“Heard and felt a boom – thought it might be a microburst and went outside to look for a fallen tree, found my neighbor doing the same thing!”
-Catherine, Ipswich
“It was a huge boom, and the house shook. Almost sounded like a huge truck crashing into a building or an explosion of some kind. I went outside to look around and saw nothing. It was unnerving!”
-Stephanie, Brighton
“My whole apartment shook and the sound was pretty incredible. I really thought something had hit my house or the roof was caving to the wind. I foster pet rats, and they all jumped. I’m both excited and spooked to discover it was a meteor. I have a pretty big fear of meteor and asteroid impacts, but also think they are really amazing. The fact that I got to safely experience this event is very cool.”
-Jordana, Somerville
“The house shook. It sounded like an explosion. I expected the power to go out. My upstairs neighbor called to see if I was OK. I ran outside to make sure a tree didn’t fall on our house, etc and to the basement half expecting to find the ceiling caved in or something on fire.”
-Erin, Medford
“We used to live in San Diego – I thought it was an earthquake for a moment! Then when I remembered I wasn’t in California, I feared it was a natural gas explosion or some other man made explosion. Definitely scared me!
-Betsy, Boxford
“At first, since it was pretty windy, I thought that my backyard tree broke and landed on top of my house causing it to shake but there was no damage inside. As I stepped out to check on it, I saw some of my neighbors outside talking about the same thing and wondering what happened. It was a surreal experience.”
-Daniel, Saugus
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