A mysterious and loud boom that awakened people on Staten Island and in New Jersey early Tuesday was caused by a steam pipe valve, officials said.
Linden Mayor Derek Armstead said that a valve on a steam pipe let loose at about 3:30 a.m., emitting several consecutive rumbles amid the rainstorms that passed over the area around that time.
"The Linden Fire Department confirmed that a valve on a steam pipe let go at Cogen," Armstead wrote in a Facebook post. "The noise was escaping steam."
The Staten Island Advance reported that dozens of residents called its offices to report the noise.
Several others took to social media to wonder what woke them up.
"@NYC311 was there a tornado in Staten Island tonight? Heard a loud and long cant explain noise during thunderstorm," said one Twitter user.
Another tweeted "So weird how everyone in Staten Island woke up to a strange noise at 3am."
Others, meanwhile, posted videos of the mysterious sound.
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It's not clear what caused the steam pipe to give way. No injuries were reported.
