By Tim Binnall
The puzzling mystery boom phenomenon flummoxed residents of three different communities spread out across the country this past weekend. The most highly publicized case occurred on Saturday afternoon when people in Wichita, Kansas and several surrounding cities and towns reported hearing an enormous and inexplicable boom. The event caused something of a stir on social media, resulted in numerous calls to local police departments, and generated a considerable amount of attention from area television stations.
"You could almost feel the air pressure from the wave, ground shook, real loud noise," recalled one witness to a local newscast. "My wife thought I was crazy I think," said another resident who heard the sound, "she was telling me to calm down." Fortunately, unlike a number of mystery boom cases we've seen in the past, this cause of this particular event appears to have been determined as the American Meteor Society reported that they received around three dozen phone calls from people in the area who said that they had seen a fireball in the sky. This would seem to indicate that a meteor may be to blame for the boom.
Meanwhile, a more mysterious boom in the early morning hours of Sunday in Athena, Oregon, where, once again, multiple people reported hearing a thunderous sound that, in some cases, shook their homes. "It was a loud boom that lasted a long time and rattled the walls," said one witness. Two other individuals who heard the sound likened it to an explosion of some kind, while another person said that they initially thought it was a car accident. Oddly enough, there were also residents who live alongside these witnesses who indicated that they heard nothing at all.
As of now, there seems to be no leading suspected cause for the sound, which can also be said for yet another mystery boom that took place all the way on the other side of the country in Vernon, Connecticut. This particular noise reportedly occurred after the Wichita event, but before the one in Oregon, at around 10 PM. In this instance, police received several calls from concerned residents and are investigating the matter. The three communities are just the latest locations that have been struck, so to speak, by the mystery boom phenomenon as recent years have seen reports coming from Maryland, Colorado, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Texas to name just a few of the many places where the strange sounds have stumped bewildered witnesses.
Coast Insiders looking to learn more about the mystery boom phenomenon can check out the 4/25/2013 edition of the program featuring investigative journalist Linda Moulton Howe's report on the puzzling trend. Not a Coast Insider yet? Sign up today.