USGS Reports Sonic Boom Columbia Sc Across Midlands, Saint Andrews Origin

The United States Geological Survey reported a sonic boom columbia sc felt across the Midlands on Thursday afternoon, and estimated it came from Saint Andrews. The report followed calls from Columbia and surrounding counties, with additional reports from Darlington and Chesterfield counties.

The agency said the boom was not the result of an earthquake. A spokesperson also said there was no earthquake activity in or around Columbia, and the last reported tremor in or around the city was on May 22.

USGS And Columbia Reports

USGS said standard magnitude calculation methods do not apply to sonic booms. Instead, it manually assigned the event a magnitude of 0.0, using sound-wave arrival times at seismic stations and eyewitness reports to place the location and origin time.

That approach leaves the estimate as a best fit, not a fixed reading. The agency tied the event to Saint Andrews, while local reports stretched well beyond one neighborhood and reached multiple counties across the region.

National Weather Service At Columbia Metropolitan Airport

The National Weather Service said it felt and heard the boom at Columbia Metropolitan Airport. WIS reached out to the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, Fort Jackson, and Shaw Air Force Base to verify the cause.

For people who heard the boom, the practical point is narrow but immediate: the event was treated as a sonic boom, not seismic activity, and the reported origin sits in Saint Andrews. With no earthquake activity in or around Columbia, the remaining question for residents is where the sound came from and which agency can explain it next.