‘Sonic boom’ caused tremors felt across the north of Scotland

A sonic boom has been blamed for tremors that were felt by residents across the north of Scotland.

The strange vibrations were phoned into police late on Tuesday night by people in Cults, Inverbervie, Aberdeen, Stonehaven, Cove, and even Arbroath.

A spokesman for Grampian Police confirmed the reports and said the force had received around a dozen calls between 8.45pm and 11.15pm on Tuesday.

He said: “Grampian Police can confirm that following the numerous reports from members of the public who felt 'tremors' during the evening of Tuesday, May 22, the British Geological Survey have reported no significant seismic activity. No reports of injuries or damage have been received.

“The Ministry of Defence have confirmed that they regularly conduct supersonic flight over sea around the whole of the UK, when aircraft do fly at such speeds a sonic boom is created that could be mistaken for an explosion or a tremor.

“Given the weather conditions (high pressure anti-cyclone) overnight, the noise from any aircraft flying at supersonic speeds travel would have travelled over long distances and this is likely what was heard.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said it was “likely” that the tremors were caused by a supersonic jet.

He said the high pressure over the north-east last night was the likely cause of the supersonic booms being heard more clearly around the region.

The British Geological Survey (BGS) has also confirmed that the tremors were not the result of an earthquake.

Tremors can be caused by seismic events, like earthquakes, but can also be the result of sonic booms produced by high-velocity aircraft.

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