Mysterious rumbling noise in the metro

[Steven Myers]

I have been hearing a loud rumbling noise for several years now at my home. I live in Nichols Hills east of Penn. and south of Britton. The sound emanates from southeast of my home and appears to be coming from 5 to 10 miles away from somewhere on the ground. It is completely random in occurrence. I hear it at various times of the day and night. Sometimes it will only happen once and other times it will do it 3 or 4 times in a row over a 20 minute period. It always begins low in volume then builds to a loud rumble then fades. It sometimes lasts only 10 seconds and others times goes for up to 3 minutes. I can hear it easily when I'm inside my home and If I'm outside I can actually feel it in my chest and have to raise my voice a little to talk over it. I have called every agency I can think of and no one has heard it themselves or had it mentioned to them. My family and friends have all witnessed this sound. It does not move around. It always comes from the same place. Any idea what this is?

[Ward]

The train tracks running close by you? Maybe not using the train horn?

[T. Jamison]

I live just west of Penn, south of Britton in the Village, and I think it may be the train. I can faintly hear the horn from time to time. Now that you mention it, I do notice odd rumblings, but have never really tried to figure out what it was.
There is a person/people with a loud sound system(s) that drive up and down Penn a lot and I usually just assume it's them. I'll pay more attention and see if I can hear what you're hearing.

[Pete]

I can hear the train at times and I live west of Penn and south of 50th.

[rezman]

I hear this more so when I’m at work. I can hear and feel the heavy trains that come through. When you have a mile long unit grain or agregate train with 3 or 4 units on point and 2 more pushing on the rear, that can create a rumble.

[Steven Myers]

The train tracks running close by you? Maybe not using the train horn?

Thanks for your reply. I've ruled out trains. This sounds like a jet engine or an industrial furnace of some sort. Maybe something from Tinker that through geographical circumstances is being funneled to my area. But do they test something that loud out there at 3 am? Also, l didn't mention it before but I work from home and I hear this sound about 3 times a week. Sometimes more often sometimes less. For years now.

[tfvc.org]

Maybe it is your neighbors

[Mr. Blue Sky]

I've heard it several times a year for the past few years. It comes quickly and stops just as suddenly. It is a loud rumble, not a train, and some people think I'm crazy while others say they hear it too but don't mention it any more because everybody acts like they're kooky. It's very real. It's not just Oklahoma City though, it's all over the country. Try Googling rumbling noise and there are hundreds of articles and queries from people all over. Very strange and the OP is right, it's a mystery.

[catch22]

On the Southside you can usually hear it late at night. They are engine runs, usually AAR at WRWA.

What you’re describing sounds like Tinker.

And, yes maintenance happens 24/7 - 3am is just the same as 3pm. However, sometimes it’s preferable to do engine runs at night as the winds are calm and air temperature is stable. Having a gusty crosswind during a high power engine run can cause compressor stalls, while not common - it’s a situation to avoid.

[Rover]

I think it is The New World Order testing a secret sonic weapon worldwide.


😊

[OKCRT]

Could be something underground like tunneling. You just never know what could be going on. Conspiracy anyone?

[Steven Myers]

I've heard it several times a year for the past few years. It comes quickly and stops just as suddenly. It is a loud rumble, not a train, and some people think I'm crazy while others say they hear it too but don't mention it any more because everybody acts like they're kooky. It's very real. It's not just Oklahoma City though, it's all over the country. Try Googling rumbling noise and there are hundreds of articles and queries from people all over. Very strange and the OP is right, it's a mystery.

The thing that bothers me the most about this sound is that as obvious as it is to hear on a regular basis, no one anywhere I contacted knew anything about it and said they had never had anyone mention it to them. I called DEQ, OKC Police, OKC Fire department (who transferred me to an office with an official that insisted I give him my name and address and was not pleased when I declined.), TV news departments, etc. I guess I will try Tinker next but I cant imagine that they would be very forthcoming since they have no reason to be.

[Bunty]

Make a recording of it and post it.

[mugofbeer]

Could it be oil wells operating or, as can be seen off Classen across from Pearls, a gas jetting of some sort?

[CloudDeckMedia]

Could it be oil wells operating or, as can be seen off Classen across from Pearls, a gas jetting of some sort?

That well has been producing - and flaring - since the 1960s.

[RodH]

Have you considered that it may be television news helicopters? Their flight paths from the stations to downtown would be southeast of your location. They usually fly low and pass close to or over my house. Your description is how I would describe their passing.

[bombermwc]

I think you're hearing the engine testing at Tinker. For whatever reason, i hear this more in the evening hours than during the day. They'll rev up like a plane is at full power on the tarmac as they are testing. It may cycle several times and there may only be one. The closer you get to Tinker, the more identifiable it is as a jet engine. Those military engines are FAR louder than the civies at WRWA. Some times it's almost like a rocket is throttling up. We're so used to it that we dont even "hear" it any more and im at 240/sooner.

[LocoAko]

Maybe they've restarted the program to test the impact of sonic booms on us.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklaho...nic_boom_tests

[Roger S]

I agree with those saying you are hearing the planes being tested at Tinker.

[PaddyShack]

I work in the tower at Britton and Broadway ext. and I sometimes hear a sound like this, I usually look out to see if it was a news helicopter or a plane, but nothing in the skies. It does sound like a jet engine that is fairly close to the tower, closer than the normal ingress and egress from WRWA.

[Johnb911]

Maybe it is your neighbors

I think that's a screen grab from home alone but it makes me think of the burbs and i've been thinking about the burbs a lot lately. time for a re-watch

[jerrywall]

I think it is The New World Order testing a secret sonic weapon worldwide.


��

Shhh... we don't talk about that.

[T. Jamison]

I just heard it in The Village. It sounds like an airplane flying really low, but at a snails pace because it lasts for what feels like forever.

[OKCretro]

I just heard it in The Village. It sounds like an airplane flying really low, but at a snails pace because it lasts for what feels like forever.

my wife heard it this afternoon as well asked me about it...

[Dob Hooligan]

I noticed this last year and came to the conclusion that it is large trucks. I'm a half block from Britton Road and can see cars and trucks traveling on it. As I developed this theory, I would notice/feel/hear the rumble, turn to look at the road and observed large trucks would drive by after several seconds. Garbage trucks, dump trucks, large tow trucks, grocery delivery trucks, fire trucks, etc. There are many large trucks driving section line roads at all hours of the day. I'm 3 blocks from May Avenue during the work day without a line of sight, and became more attuned to the "mysterious rumbling" when I observed it then. This allowed me to differentiate some of the truck sounds, such as exhaust resonance, tire rumbling, engine RPM, multiple axles/wheels and traveling speed. This made more observant of some sub-woofer, or deep rumbling bass, sounds from some audio systems.