We have concluded updating this live blog. For the latest updates visit: Sonic boom caused by Navy testing

Was it a sonic boom? A seismic blast? An earthquake? Whatever it was, it rattled most of the Jersey shore on Thursday afternoon.

The U.S. Geological Survey documented the intensity of the sonic booms felt throughout New Jersey Thursday afternoon. (Photo from USGS website)

Reports of tremors along the shore and as far north as Connecticut began to pour in around 1:30 p.m Thursday, with residents posting on Twitter or calling 911 to ask, "What was that?"

The U.S. Geological Survey reported around 3:15 p.m. posted on its website that the rumblings shaking New Jersey on Thursday afternoon were likely the result of a sonic boom.

The cause of the sensation is still unknown, and many are skeptical since the rumblings were felt numerous times over the course of a half hour. Check back here for updates.

5:08 p.m. -- Reporter Len Melisurgo spoke to meteorologist Valerie Meola with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly. She said there was nothing unusual going on in the atmosphere Thursday that would explain the loud booms, but it's possible some of the noise could have been transferred downward in the lower atmosphere by a process known as temperature inversion.

That process occurs when air is warming up, instead of cooling down, as it rises up in the atmosphere, Meola said. Even if that was happening, she said, it's uncertain whether that would allow the sound waves from a sonic boom to travel so far across the state and beyond.

When the rumbling was initially heard Thursday afternoon, winds in New Jersey were blowing primarily out of the southwest, towards the northeast, Meola said.

Let's clear this up. A single #SonicBoom cannot then produce 8 different booms sound off over the following 90 minutes. 8-9 booms recorded. — Bourbon_bourbon (@Bourbonbourbon4) January 28, 2016

4:35 p.m. -- While the USGS says it was likely a sonic boom, NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, disagrees. They reported from its facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that there has been no indication of sonic boom activity in the New Jersey area, according to Lt. Commander Richlyn Ivey. "There has been no indication of a sonic boom or anything else at this time."

4:12 p.m. -- A public affairs officer with the U.S. Navy in Washington, D.C., suggested that if there were any Navy jets operating in the area, they would have likely come from the Naval Air Station at Patuxent River, Maryland. A media representative at that facility is checking to see if they had aircraft operating in the area this afternoon.

4:06 p.m. --NASA said it was not involved in any tests in the Jersey area Thursday, according to spokesperson Allard Beutel, but had received reports of a military aircraft off the coast of Sea Isle City.

3:50 p.m. -- Military officials in New Jersey and Washington said there were no training flights off the coast of New Jersey at the time.

"We are trying to figure out what it possibly could been. We have not for sure identified it," said Wayne Woolley, a spokesman for the Air National Guard in New Jersey. "It's a real mystery."

He said four jets from New Jersey were in the air yesterday afternoon, but "they launched well after" the booms rattled the area.

3:33 p.m. -- McGuire Air Force Base said the boom wasn't them this time.

We have reports of ground shaking in S. Jersey-- currently our training ranges are clear and no MDL aircraft are capable of sonic booms. — JointBaseMDL (@jointbasemdl) January 28, 2016

If there was an inversion this afternoon, sound waves from sonic boom can travel much farther than normal. pic.twitter.com/Fy0pnsPKTm — Meteorologist Dan Skeldon (@DanSkeldonWFMZ) January 28, 2016

We contacted Lamont Doherty Observatory @ Columbia University who confirmed that it was not an earthquake & likely result of a sonic boom. — NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) January 28, 2016

3:15 p.m. -- The USGS has yet to return requests for comment on the activity, but the agency notes that sonic booms are often mistaken for earthquakes. A sonic boom occurs when an aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound, causing a loud explosive noise and sometimes rumbling.

Not an earthquake but a sonic boom in New Jersey: https://t.co/eUr4sB28Wm pic.twitter.com/TQFlkGr633 — USGS (@USGS) January 28, 2016

3:00 p.m. -- The shaking has also been reported by an NBC station in Connecticut, which also attributed the event to a sonic boom.

2:00 p.m. -- Some local police stations were reporting the tremors could have been from a seismic blast, but the New Jersey State Police couldn't confirm that.

1:30 p.m. -- Reports of rumblings near the Jersey shore first came out on social media at about 1:30 p.m., with tremors occurring every few minutes for about another hour. Residents in Atlantic, Ocean, Monmouth and Cape May counties seemed to feel most of the shaking. Social media reports indicated that the tremors were felt as far away as Long Island, New York.

Police departments around the state acknowledged the shaking, but could not offer a cause. The New Jersey State Police posted on Twitter that they could not confirm a source for the rumblings.

Toms River police said they started receiving calls about the activity around 2:20 p.m. Ralph Stocco, spokesman for the department, said the local military bases "are not reporting any activity that could be associated with it."

One police department near the shore asked that residents refrain from calling to report the tremors.

We are aware of the tremors. Please only dial 911 if you have an emergency. We will immediately advise the public when we know the cause — Twp of Hamilton PD (@NJHTPD) January 28, 2016

The shaking appeared to have subsided at around 2:40 p.m.

Andy Polhamus may be reached at apolhamus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ajpolhamus. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.