Exclusive: Video shows loud boom that woke many in Myrtle Beach area. Did you hear it too?
The loud booms that could be heard across the South Carolina coast was all the talk this morning on social media.
The booms reportedly shook people’s homes and woke them at about 3 a.m.
Horry County dispatch received numerous phone calls about the sounds, according to spokesperson Thomas Bell. In addition, it appears that police also responded to several calls about alarms going off because of the boom.
Laura McKnight Barnett posted a Facebook video from her home camera that captured the boom about 3 a.m. She said she looked outside about 3 a.m. but didn’t see the boom. Her husband sent her the footage Wednesday morning when he got to his fire station in Georgetown. He is a battalion chief there.
People reported hearing the booms from Carolina Forest all the way to Pawleys Island.
Several people have marked themselves “safe from the 3 am sonic boom that shook the house” on Facebook. Marking yourself safe has become a way for people to alert other that they are OK during a disaster. However, some people use it as a form of mocking.
The booms did wake many people up. One person on Facebook commented: “Sonic boom at 3 in the morning. I guess everyone is awake now.”
Another person on Nextdoor said: “Woke up to awful loud boom just after 3 am. dog barking, shook entire house felt like it went right through me.”
However, there were some people who reported sleeping through the boom.
The booms appear to be coming from multiple training operations by the 20th Fighter Wing assigned to Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, according to a press release.
The fighter wing is using the South Carolina Electronic Warfare Range and operations will occur from midnight to 8 a.m. through Dec. 15, the release said.
The release said that residents would probably hear an increase in noise and military activity along the coast between Myrtle Beach and the Charleston area.
This story was originally published December 13, 2023 at 10:03 AM.
