Columbia, South Carolina Rocked by Massive Sonic Boom at 5:24 PM on May 28 as USGS Confirms No Earthquake

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA — A massive sonic boom shook the entire Columbia, South Carolina metro at 5:24 PM on Thursday, May 28, 2026, triggering widespread reports of earthquake-like shaking across the region. The United States Geological Survey has confirmed the event was not a seismic event, with recorded waves and eyewitness reports consistent with a sonic boom. The source remains under investigation and may be military in nature.

What People Felt Across the Columbia Metro

The boom was described as bigtime in scale, shaking homes, rattling windows and producing ground vibrations strong enough that residents across the metro immediately suspected an earthquake. The shaking was felt across a broad footprint centered on Columbia, with reports spreading outward toward Lexington, Sumter, Florence and surrounding communities based on the event map.

What USGS Confirmed

The United States Geological Survey released an official statement clarifying the nature of the event. Key points from the USGS:

• The event is not an earthquake
• Recorded waves and eyewitness reports are consistent with a sonic boom
• Earthquake magnitude scales do not apply to sonic booms, as they are calibrated for seismic waves traveling through the Earth
• USGS manually assigned a magnitude of 0.0 to catalog the event
• Location and origin time are approximate, based on sound wave arrival times at seismic stations and eyewitness report locations

Meteor Ruled Out

Researchers also reviewed preliminary reports from the American Meteor Society and found no reliable meteor reports from South Carolina at the time of the event. A meteor or fireball origin has been effectively ruled out based on available data.

Possible Military Origin

With natural and astronomical causes ruled out, investigators indicate the event may have been military in nature. No further details were available at the time of reporting, and the investigation remains ongoing.

The Footprint: How Far the Boom Was Felt

The report map shows the sonic boom was detected across a large area of central South Carolina, with the heaviest concentration of reports centered on Columbia marked by a star icon on the map. The felt zone extends:

• Northward toward Spartanburg and the I-85 corridor
• Eastward toward Florence and the Pee Dee region
• Southward toward Augusta, Georgia and the Savannah River area
• Into portions of Francis Marion National Forest to the southeast

Stay with CabarrusWeekly.com for continuing updates as investigators work to determine the source of Thursday’s sonic boom over Columbia.