The New Jersey summer is going to get even louder than usual later this month.
The U.S. Military has published a warning of a “high noise” event—with the loudest period coming between July 17 and 24. Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, the only facility in the country that combines bases for all three services, is located about 70 miles southwest of New York City. The base commanders alerted the public that residents in surrounding towns can expect to hear mortar live fire, howitzer fire, and cratering charges going off during the training exercise. In addition, combat helicopters are expected to be practice-firing .50-caliber machine guns, rockets and rotary (Gatling) cannons.
The weather for the rest of the month could affect how the noise dissipates—or not. According to the website Weatherboy, “Low clouds moving through the region could make noise travel farther. The cloud pattern in the area will also help carry or dissipate different types of noises.” The site also explained that cloudy skies over the exercise site could affect which direction the noise travels differently than would clear skies, for example. “While clouds help carry noise, temperature variances in the atmosphere are more efficient at impacting acoustics and can also help with the distribution of noise away from its source,” according to the site.
While Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst includes units from all six armed forces branches, the core facility is a combination of the United States Air Force’s McGuire Air Force Base, the United States Army’s Fort Dix and the United States Navy’s Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, which all merged on Oct. 1, 2009.
