‘That would scare the life out of me,’ Hurricane Milton arrives to the sound of trumpets, but it isn’t the end of times

It’s hard to imagine something more terrifying than a 150 MPH storm ripping through your hometown. There’s a reason so many weather-related horror movies hit the box office every year. Mother Nature can be a terrifying thing, especially as she’s dumping gallons of water and sending 15-foot surge waves up and down the coast. But, as many residents who decided to shelter in place have learned, it’s not just the flood waters and wind that will send a chill up your spine.

A truly freaky phenomenon has been popping up all over social media as those who stayed home record the (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime Hurricane Milton. As the lighting sears across the sky, it’s accompanied not only by the boom of thunder but also… the sound of horns? What in the apocalypse is going on?!

Why do you hear trumpets during a thunder storm?

Let’s start this off by saying that no one is really sure why this happens, but it’s definitely not a marching band of angels heralding in the end times like many in the comments seem to believe. It’s also not an exuberant Shofar – a trumpet made from a ram’s horn typically used in Jewish religious ceremonies – or an overly enthusiastic brass band, either.

Those eerie sounds have been studied by seismologists, and are believed to be an amplified version of the noise Earth makes simply by existing. The Earth’s surface is constantly vibrating, and this ambient seismic noise is believed to be caused by the ocean’s waves smashing against the sea floor. From there, it rebounds all the way through the Earth’s crust.

Human activity on land is also believed to contribute to the phenomenon, which has been documented by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and the University of Cambridge. Over the years, the group has enhanced multiple readings, though they sound more like low rumbles than heralding trumpets. They have a recording from the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, which triggered a 40-meter Tsunami and traveled 10km inland. The project gives a visual and auditory representation of how vibration and sound created a deadly wave that killed nearly 20 thousand Japanese citizens.

But that isn’t the only working theory. Scientists from the University of North Carolina claim that it isn’t seismic activity at all. They believe that “skyquakes” are the product of coronal ejection from the sun, escaping gas, or collapsing landmasses. In this instance, it could be the sound of the distant parts of the hurricane rebounding across miles and miles of atmosphere.

While scientists are still trying to figure out why this is happening, its important to remember that there is more about life we don’t understand than things we do. It’s easy to sink into the hysteria of the unknown and look for reason anywhere we can find it. As more and more of these videos pop up online don’t assume its seven angels with seven trumpets come to warn of the end of times. Instead, encourage those around you to worry less about the rapture, and more about the atmospheric conditions around them.