Sonic boom heard on Northumberland coast during military exercise

The Ministry of Defence has explained that climatic conditions may have contributed to it being heard inland.

A sonic boom is a sound associated with shock waves created when an object travels through the air faster than the speed of sound.

An RAF spokesperson said: “The RAF and our allies operate frequently and routinely over the North Sea completing operational training inside supersonic offshore range areas, on some occasions climatic conditions may mean that our operations are heard inland.”

Supersonic flight in offshore military training ranges for RAF and allied fighter aircraft is routine.

Under normal environmental conditions such events are sufficiently far out to sea to not cause sonic booms to be heard on the mainland.

The sonic boom happened around 12.10pm today (Wednesday, September 15).

Embleton resident David Ainsley, who contacted the Northumberland Gazette, said: “It sounded like something had hit our roof.”

Support your Gazette and become a subscriber today. With a digital subscription you get access to the ad-lite version of our website, meaning you see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times and get all of the headlines you need with fewer distractions. The Northumberland Gazette has been serving the county since 1854, and your support means we can continue telling your stories for generations to come. Click here to subscribe.