A loud noise similar to an explosion was reported by residents across Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey on Tuesday morning.
After several hours of speculation by residents on social media, an official with the city Emergency Management department said that NASA confirmed that a meteor entered the atmosphere above Manhattan.
“NASA has estimated that a meteor entered the atmosphere and disintegrated above the New York City metropolitan area earlier today,” said Aries Dela Cruz, Emergency Management external affairs and public information executive, on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Preliminary analysis indicates the meteor passed over the Statue of Liberty before fragmenting high above midtown Manhattan.”
Cruz added that Emergency Management did not receive reports of damage or injuries related to the meteor and the office will continue to monitor the situation.
Weapons testing?
Earlier in the day, Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R-South Shore) posted another possible cause on his Facebook page: Military weapons testing happening in Little Egg Harbor, N.J.
He shared an alert from the Little Egg Harbor Township Police Department:
“Loud Boom possibly connected to this notification that was shared by Little Egg Harbor NJ Police Department. ‘Activity at the Warren Grove Air to Ground Range will take place today between the hours of 10am and 11am. Expect to hear sounds relating to military weapons activity during that time.'”
According to NJ.com, emergency personnel responded to a wildfire that broke out around 2:15 p.m., at Warren Grove Air to Ground Range in Ocean County.
The fire happened after Little Egg Harbor Township police warned residents on Tuesday about potential loud noises coming from the facility due to testing that was scheduled to happen between 10 a.m., and 11 a.m.
Chief Meteorologist Lee Goldberg of ABC7 said that Tuesday’s heat and high temperatures could have helped the sound travel far and wide.
The NYPD indicated it did not have any confirmed reports of an explosion.
A spokesperson from the FDNY said officials responded to a “report of an explosion” at Avenue X and Batchelder Street in Brooklyn at 11:22 a.m., but found nothing.
The United States Geological Survey had no reports of an earthquake for the New York City area on Tuesday.
Con Edison also had no reports of any transformer explosions on Staten Island.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that it was not one of its planes and the United States Air Force said there were no flyovers or aerial demonstrations on Tuesday.
___
(c) 2024 Staten Island Advance
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
