Did you hear it? Right here’s what we learn about a giant growth heard round Mass.

“Bolide meteor created the thunderous sonic growth.”

Was it thunder? An earthquake? A meteor? Sonic growth?

Folks round Better Boston and past heard and felt a loud growth Saturday afternoon, as reported throughout numerous social media platforms and neighborhood teams.

“Did anybody hear the loud explosion at approx 2:10 PM in Oak Sq. Space?” Boston Metropolis Council President Liz Breadon posted in an Allston-Brighton Fb group.

Some social media customers speculated that it was an explosion, an earthquake, or a sonic growth.

Meteorologists quickly dominated out an earthquake and indicated the incident could have been a meteor. Right here’s what native officers and meteorologists are saying:

“Very giant ‘flash’ detected by GOES-19 GLM that doesn’t correlate with energetic thunderstorms,” spaceflight meteorologist Nick Stewart reported on X.

The flash density product actually exhibits this anomalous “flash” which is fairly distinctive of a bolide/meteor reentry. east of Boston. That is the doubtless supply of the loud growth/explosion. pic.twitter.com/ka5b9KfiQ7

— Nick Stewart (@NStewWX) Could 30, 2026

“Bolide meteor created the thunderous sonic growth,” stated Pete Bouchard, chief meteorologist for NBC10 Boston, on X.

Bolide meteor created the thunderous sonic growth. You possibly can see it on GLM satellite tv for pc. The blobs offshore are lightning, however the massive splat off the South Shore is the bolide meteor. pic.twitter.com/a2AF7x34TA

— Pete Bouchard (@PeteNBCBoston) Could 30, 2026

“There isn’t any lightning on this present storm, no earthquake from USGS,” Pamela Gardner, a meteorologist for NBC10 Boston, reported.

Huge explosion/growth round Boston
GLM from GOES 19 exhibits potential meteor or bolide coming into the ambiance. There isn’t any lightning on this present storm, no earthquake from USGS. pic.twitter.com/Wamm66BIRg

— Pamela Gardner NBC10 Boston (@Pamelanbcboston) Could 30, 2026

This NOAA product which measures I feel some type of vitality positively exhibits that explosion within the ambiance over Cape cod bay. That is what all of us heard. Just a bit larger than the tree I believed went down. #growth pic.twitter.com/Gz0aPFEI4N

— Dave Epstein (@growingwisdom) Could 30, 2026

A idea in regards to the “growth:” GOES19 lightning mapper displaying a big flash far faraway from precise lightning, near SE Mass. Meteor? pic.twitter.com/ejzCC2ca3K

— A.J. Burnett (@WxManAJB) Could 30, 2026

All – Quite a few stories of a ‘giant growth’ with shaking felt at floor degree throughout inside Mass from about Franklin MA north through North-Central RI. USGS has “not” reported an earthquake. This “would possibly” be a meteor that blew up in mid-air with a light-weight streak noticed per social…

— SNE Newbie Radio Skywarn (@WX1BOX) Could 30, 2026

This afternoon, Massachusetts Public Security Officers obtained stories of an audible growth and floor tremors in Japanese Massachusetts. Though we don’t but know the trigger, there aren’t any identified emergency police or hearth requests linked to those stories and we don’t consider…

— Government Workplace of Public Security and Safety (@EOPSS) Could 30, 2026

“There have been lots of of 911 calls throughout japanese MA, southern NH. And northern CT,” Northeast Massachusetts Emergency Alerts posted on Fb at 2:31 p.m,” confirming a loud sound heard within the Peabody/Middleton/Lynnfield space.

“There isn’t any affirmation of what this may occasionally have been, however there was no proof of any type of hearth or explosion when corporations responded to research in quite a few cities,” the publish famous. “Presumably an earthquake or some type of sonic growth. An identical episode occurred inside the previous few days in South Carolina. No stories of any ongoing hazard to the general public.”

Did you hear it? Inform us your expertise

Could 30, 2026: Did you hear a loud growth?

Heather Alterisio

Senior Content material Producer

Heather Alterisio, a senior content material producer, joined Boston.com in 2022 after working for greater than 5 years as a basic task reporter at newspapers in Massachusetts.