New To The Area? Expect Rumbles From Joint Base All Weekend

JOINT BASE McGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NJ — Training at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is underway and sending booms and rumbles for miles.

For those who are new to the area, the base — a combination of the U.S. Navy at Lakehurst, U.S. Army at Fort Dix and the U.S. Air Force at McGuire — hosts training exercises year-round, for multiple facets of the military.

The Joint Base training noise calendar for March (they are posted monthly on the base's website and the base's Facebook page) shows training that produces high noise levels through Sunday.

The noise results from the use of heavy artillery, including howitzers and mortar rounds, along with cratering charges, the base calendar says.

High noise levels can shake homes near the base and cause rumbles heard for miles when the weather acoustics are favorable. Low cloud cover, such as with the current weather, can cause the sound to travel longer distances. That will cause rumbling and even shake homes in some areas.

In past years the noise has carried as far north as Monmouth County and as far east as Point Pleasant Beach, Wall and Manasquan, along with southeast to Long Beach Island.

The remainder of March is listed as medium noise levels from .50-caliber weapons, rocket fire, and rotary cannons.