Community Corner

Port Jefferson's Big Bang Explained

Meteorologists confirm the boisterous clap was thunder, very loud thunder.

Port Jefferson residents were startled Tuesday night when a loud bang and flash of light went off. Some locals said that boom was so heavy that it shook their homes.

Right after the bang, residents took to Facebook to figure out what they had just heard. Speculations varied from a a furnace getting ready to blow, to a power plant explosion and a plane crash.

So what was it? Meteor? Explosion? Alien invasion? No, just good ol' thunder and lightning, a spokesperson from the National Weather Service confirmed Wednesday.

Find out what's happening in Port Jeffersonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The NWS representative said that the organization put out a special weather statement about the rumbles at 9:46 p.m., which is likely what residents heard.

He said that snow squalls, embedded thunder and lightning strikes moved through the area between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. that night. However, there's no explanation for why the thunder clap was so loud. Perhaps spring, which officially started today, was giving this long winter one heck of knock out.

Find out what's happening in Port Jeffersonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Unfortunately, while spring has sprung, it looks like Port Jefferson isn't done with the cold weather quite yet. According to the NWS, snow showers are likely early Thursday morning and temperatures will remain in the low 40s for the rest of the week.


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