Did you hear a boom in Richland?
Neighbors have reported 19 booms in Richland in the last year, 2 of them in the last 30 days. The most recent was 5 days ago.
Richland sits between the Hanford site to the north and the open country west toward the Yakima Training Center, so residents here often hear training activity and industrial noise carried a long way by the terrain.
Recent reports in Richland
Boom over the Tri-Cities - Aug 14, 2026, 12:55 AM
5 days ago · 1 report
Boom over the Tri-Cities - Jul 20, 2026, 9:13 PM
29 days ago · 1 report
Boom over the Tri-Cities - Jul 18, 2026, 12:34 AM
1 month ago · 1 report
Boom over the Tri-Cities - Jul 8, 2026, 9:52 PM
1 month ago · 1 report
Boom over the Tri-Cities - Jul 4, 2026, 1:38 PM
1 month ago · 1 report
Boom over the Tri-Cities - Jul 2, 2026, 11:55 PM
2 months ago · 2 reports
Boom over the Tri-Cities - Jun 30, 2026, 9:30 PM
2 months ago · 3 reports
Boom over the Tri-Cities - Jun 27, 2026, 6:45 PM
2 months ago · 1 report
Boom over the Tri-Cities - Jun 27, 2026, 12:41 AM
2 months ago · 1 report
Boom over the Tri-Cities - Jun 25, 2026, 9:03 PM
2 months ago · 3 reports
What it might have been
These are the usual explanations around here, and how to tell them apart.
Military training
Artillery, demolition and live-fire training carries a long way across open ground, especially from the Yakima Training Center to the west.
Sonic boom
An aircraft going supersonic produces a sharp double crack that arrives with no warning.
Transformer or electrical fault
A failing transformer or line fault makes a single hard bang, often with a flash and a local power cut.
Quarry or construction blasting
Permitted blasting produces a muffled thump and ground shake that arrives before the sound.
Fireworks
Large shells make a sharp report with an echo, usually in bursts and usually after dark.
Earthquake
A shallow local quake can produce an audible boom along with the shake.
Areas we hear from in Richland
Uptown · South Richland · Horn Rapids · Queensgate · Badger Mountain · Leslie Road