Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
A week after deadly Texas flooding, hope fades but resilience grows. Chevron right
Recovery teams, displaced residents in Texas face brutal heat. Chevron right

Columbus, OH

72°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

72°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Weather News

Mysterious 'skyquakes' continue across the world with few answers to their origins

By Michael Kuhne, AccuWeather staff writer

Published Dec 7, 2017 2:41 PM EDT | Updated Jul 1, 2019 5:16 PM EDT

Copied

Across the world, the sky is quaking with mysterious, explosive booms leaving residents rattled and baffling experts trying to determine their origins.

More than 64 different incidents involving loud, unexplained booms worldwide have been reported in 2017, according to a recent NY Post report.

The most recently reported skyquake in the U.S. occurred near Daytona Beach, Florida, on Dec. 3, prompting nearby residents to search for answers on social media.

Birmingham, Alabama, residents experienced a similar event last month, which local media dubbed the "Bama Boom."

The "Bama Boom" occurred on Tuesday, Nov. 14, around 1:30 p.m. local time, according to Fox News.

Lockheed SR-71

Lockheed Martin SR-71

National Weather Service officials in Birmingham tweeted shortly after the boom was reported, stating: "Loud boom heard: we do not see anything indicating large fire/smoke on radar or satellite; nothing on USGS indicating an earthquake."

Some of the possible explanations for loud booms could be lightning from distant thunderstorms, large meteors entering the atmosphere, earthquakes, mining operations such as blasting and super-sonic aircraft.

"Shallow, brittle earthquakes and underground mine bumps can do this, causing both shaking from below and sound in the air," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jim Andrews said. "Then there are both natural and man-made causes originating in the atmosphere."

Supersonic aircraft would be a strong candidate as to the cause, Andrews said. Natural causes could be a meteor surviving entry into the atmosphere or particularly exceptional lightning, given that a thunderstorm is occurring.

A similar occurrence to the "Bama Boom" was reported in June earlier this year along the San Diego coastline, rattling doors and windows.

RELATED:

China’s ‘Monkey King’ satellite detects mysterious signals in search for dark matter
Groundbreaking report documents hundreds of human-triggered earthquakes
Can an active hurricane season lead to an increase in earthquakes?
‘A gift from the sky:’ Rainbow in Taiwan lasts for a possible world record of 9 hours
Photos: Images from around the world capture the size and beauty of Sunday’s supermoon

After initially denying any involvement, a Navy spokesman told the San Diego Union-Tribune that several jets went supersonic, causing the boom.

"Those two aircraft went supersonic about 35 miles from the coast," Kakiel told the Union-Tribune. "Usually you don't hear the side booms travel that far. It was kind of surprising to us."

Since June, there have been several new reports of loud mystery booms in the San Diego area, most recently in early November, according to NBC San Diego.

The November news report suggested a meteorological phenomenon of clashing air masses might be another potential source of the strange rumblings.

"The event may have been caused by a meteorological phenomenon generated by the contrast of hot and cold air masses," according to the report.

@NASA did u just do testing over Florida? Lots of booms over Volusia County. Scared the daylights out of us.

— Michele Kopf Vitale (@MicheleRVitale) December 1, 2017

In addition to different air masses colliding, Andrews said temperature and atmospheric stability can greatly impact sound as it travels, serving to both amplify the wave and allow it to travel over a longer distance.

He said atmospheric stability, temperature, air masses and topography can alter and affect how sound travels in any given area.

"You could have sounds that are being channeled away from their origin, increasing in loudness and changing in their patterns," he said.

The origin of a sound might be relatively simple, but it produces a more mysterious rumbling as it moves farther away from the source.

The local Birmingham NWS office had no answer to what caused the "Bama Boom" but suggested it could have been caused by supersonic aviation or a meteorite surviving an atmospheric entry as the event occurred near the peak of the Leonid meteor shower.

NASA scientists had no answers as to the cause, adding that the Leonids are too small to make it through the atmosphere to cause the boom reported, according to Al.com.

Days later, another strange boom with mysterious origins was reported in the Denver, Colorado, area, according to a local CBS station.

A follow-up report from the same Colorado news station stated an over-pressurized storage tank erupted at a nearby oil and gas facility around the time of the reports. That was offered as the most likely cause, according to the report.

However, not all origins of the reported sounds have been so easily uncovered. Andrews stressed there are likely many causes both natural and man-made that can be attributed to these types of events around the world.

"With that said, the universe almost surely has many secrets yet to be unlocked," Andrews said.

Report a Typo

Weather News

Weather News

A week after deadly Texas flooding, hope fades but resilience grows

Jul. 10, 2025
Severe Weather

Rounds of severe storms to rattle, drench central US

Jul. 10, 2025
video

Abandoned cars submerged by severe flooding in North Carolina

Jul. 10, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Texas Hill Country recovery, cleanup teams to face brutal July weather

14 hours ago

Weather News

State inspection before floods found Camp Mystic had emergency plan

19 hours ago

Weather News

Deadly flash flooding devastates wildfire-scarred New Mexico town

7 hours ago

Astronomy

1st full moon of summer to rise Thursday night

1 day ago

Weather News

Most Texas flood victims face devastation without flood insurance

17 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Health

How can families handle new anxieties around summer camp?

13 hours ago

AccuWeather Ready

Floodwater rising in your house? Do this

2 days ago

Weather News

Orcas are bringing humans gifts of food – but why?

13 hours ago

Weather News

Earthquake swarm detected at Mount Rainier, biggest since 2009

18 hours ago

Weather News

The US has a plan to breed millions of flies and drop them from planes

13 hours ago

AccuWeather Weather News Mysterious 'skyquakes' continue across the world with few answers to their origins
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...