Ground shaking explosions are likely to occur in New Jersey this weekend and into early next week, and local officials in the region don’t want residents to be too alarmed. Unlike the recent natural activity triggered by severe thunderstorms and/or earthquakes, the ground shaking in the coming days is the result of a large scale military drill scheduled in the Garden State.
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is hosting a live fire military drill in which mortar fire, howitzer fire, and cratering explosions will be employed. In an announcement to the public, the base said the drill will create “abundant noise”, which is the highest level of three categories of noise/movement the base uses to inform neighboring communities of what to expect there.
The weather forecast in the coming days will also amplify the action coming from the military base. Low clouds and precipitation generally causes noise to travel farther; with the weather forecast of a storm system moving through at the start of the Thanksgiving week, it is likely the weather could carry noise throughout portions of central and southern New Jersey.
While the loudest exercise should wrap up Tuesday, moderature noise is expected to linger for the balance of the month while the military base hosts other drills. From Wednesday through to the 30th, 0.50 caliber weapons, rocket fire, and rotary cannons could also cause communities in New Jersey to rock and rumble from the munitions.
Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst is a U.S. military facility located 18 miles southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. The base is the only tri-service base in the United States Department of Defense and includes units from all six armed forces branches. The facility is a combination of the United States Air Force’s McGuire Air Force Base, the United States Army’s Fort Dix and the United States Navy’s Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst. The bases were merged on October 1, 2009.
