Residents in New Jersey have reported loud booming sounds that were apparently so loud, one resident felt their entire house would be rocked off its foundation. Is this part of the same phenomenon that's happened over New York state, including the Catskills, the past two weeks? In those cases, the loud explosions in the air were caused by a series of small meteors. Was this yet another case of a space rock disintegrating in the Earth;'s atmosphere? Or is it something else?

The NY Post is reporting that the booms began being heard in Mullica Township in Atlantic County. Residents say the sounds had been happening off and on for weeks, and could be heard many miles in every direction. The panicked townsfolk called 911 looking for answers, but even local law enforcement was stumped over where and how these frighteningly loud sounds were coming from? Some callers said it sounded like bombs dropping.

The answer? It's just some guy shooting a cannon in the air to chase away clouds.

The Post says a man named Rob Butkowski has been firing off a homemade cannon which blasts huge shockwaves to the sky. He calls it his hail cannon. Butkowski owns a vineyard, and told the Post he uses it scare away hungry birds, and break up clouds overhead. Is he some sort of madman trying to control the weather? Butkowski says he's just trying to protect his crops.

Hail cannons are actually used by some farmers to shoot shockwaves into the air to disrupt the atmosphere when a storm is moving in. You hear more about these devices in areas like the Midwest and in the Plains where big hailstorms are more frequent. They've been around for many years.

There are no firearms or explosives involved, according to Hammonton Chief of Police Kevin Friel. It runs on gas. Butkowski told the Post that he found the directions to build this mini Doomsday device with instructions he found online.

It sounds like a jet going by. It’s like the loudest thing you’ve ever heard just blew through your chest — it’s amazing.

 

He certainly seems to like his new toy.

You can see the split clouds apart. You can hear it rip.

Wikipedia says there's no scientific evidence that these things are actually effective. Is it legal? It may not seem like it, but Chief Friel says the device is legal and there are no plans, as of now, to stop him. Bombs away!

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