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Mysterious loud booms are being reported across the United States leaving scientists puzzled

Supersonic shockwave cone sonic boom

Increasingly, persons all over the United States have been reporting mysterious loud “booming” sounds, sometimes accompanied by a bright flash of light.  In some instances, witnesses have reported seeing strange formations in the sky immediately preceding the boom.  Many have reported seeing “orange lights” while others have witnessed circular shaped objects (often with a “dot” in the center). 

Mass reports of the rumbling boom sounds began in late 2012.  Meteorologists have investigated the mysterious sounds and have ruled out lightning since no storms were in the areas and the weather was not conducive to common thunder.  Furthermore, the United States Geological Service has ruled out earthquakes and ground tremors as the source of the sound.

The loud booming sound often comes in a series of booms, one following the other.  In many cases, seemingly defying the laws of physics, the sound seems to be very focused with one neighborhood clearly hearing what they often feel are explosions while nearby neighbors hear nothing at all.  According to Jeffrey Braun, Ph.D., Physicist, University of Evansville, Indiana:

“At this point, nobody seems to know.  The geologists say it’s not in the ground. The Air Force says it’s not in the air. The astronomers say it’s not from space.  So, we’re running out of options.”

The first round of strange sounds began in late 2012 when residents southwest of Providence in Warwick, Rhode Island, were shaken in houses and buildings by a loud “bang” that some described as sounding “like the beginning of war.”  The local Fire Department reported:

“The night of December 3, 2012, residents from Warwick, Rhode Island, to Somerset, Massachusetts, heard a loud explosion with a bright light and a long sustained hum,” the latest in a series of strange lights, booms and hum.”

On December 4 (possibly 12/5), 2012, reports of loud booms were reported in five states: Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arizona. In Navarro Texas, earthquakes were ruled out:

“On Tuesday, December 4th, afternoon around 3:00 p.m., residents in both Texas and Oklahoma reported tremors accompanied by a rumbling sound. Officals started getting calls at 3:09 p.m.  The first calls were north of Corsicana in the Hickory Hollow area with two separate residents out there reporting unusual tremors being felt along with a rumbling type of noise. Two hours later, additional heavier tremors in the same vicinity were reported. But still no seismic activity registered by USGS.”

Ditto for reports coming out of Columbia County, Georgia on the same day.

“In Georgia from December 4 – 6, loud booms shocked residents. One man heard a loud rumble and found that his driveway had been lifted up and the road and sidewalk near his home were cracked. But no seismic activity registered by the U. S. Geological Survey.”

Don Blakeman, an earthquake analyst at the National Earthquake Information Center, told reporters they have no idea what is causing the mysterious booms:

“Folks have been feeling something out there…, but we couldn’t find anything, we didn’t see anything on our records.  That doesn’t mean something hasn’t happened, but we don’t know what it is.”

That same day further west between 3 and 5 PM in Verde Valley, Arizona, about 100 miles north of Phoenix, residents heard six or seven fast, loud booms that scared them, but again there was no explanation from government, military, or business authorities.  Jean Swesey told reporters:

“It was a whole series of booms, up to six or seven. It was fast, it went loud. We were quiet and then my daughter down the hall screamed really loud, ‘Did you hear that?’ I sat there for a second and I heard another set.”

On January 3, 2013, another round of reports came from across the country.  In Red Bank, South Carolina, the newspaper headlines read “Source of loud boom in Red Bank remains a mystery”.  Meanwhile, across the country in Anchorage, Alaska, reports of a loud, rumbling boom came in.  Local Air Force bases reported that they had no aircraft in the skies that could be making sonic booms.

On January 5th in Salem and Marblehead, Massachusetts, residents called 911 at 1:30 AM EST to report a very loud “crack-of-lightning” boom and bright flash of light that were caught on a video security camera (see video below). That night the weather was clear, and the weather service records confirmed there were no thunderstorms anywhere in the region.  Meanwhile, in Indian local news reports opened with the headline, “Loud booms continue throughout the Tri-State area” and reported the following:

A lot of Tri-Staters are asking the same question Wednesday night as they were Tuesday – what are those boom sounds they hear and feel late at night?  14 News sat down with USI Professor of Geology, Paul Doss. Doss has been looking at the seismometer for the past several days. “Earthquake energy is an acoustic energy, but it would not be transmitted out of the crust and into the atmosphere. When I look over the last few days, at these times, nothing, nothing,” Doss said.

And three days later in Utah, a panicked man called his local newspaper and reported:

“My wife – she’s a schoolteacher who teaches third grade – she was at school teaching, and I was at home with my two kids. It was in the early afternoon and my infant was asleep and I was getting ready to put my 2-year-old to bed. I thought there was an earthquake. It was a BOOM! that lasted for about 5 seconds – a boom and a rumble.”

In the following days, reports from all across the country continued.  In Centralia, Missouri, January 24, 2013, Bend, North Carolina, January 25, 2013, Alice, Texas, January 26, 2013, Indian River, Michigan, January 28, 2013, and Bakersfield, California, January 31, 2013, 3:30 AM.  All reported loud booms in clear weather.

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Supersonic shockwave cone sonic boom via Wikimedia Commons by CMGLee with usage type - GNU Free

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Supersonic shockwave cone sonic boom via Wikimedia Commons by CMGLee with usage type - GNU Free

 

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