Mystery boom in Tampa Bay, FL
© WFLA
On December 9th, around 2:00 pm, another mysterious boom was heard in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Residents reported that the boom triggered car alarms, shook windows and houses. In an interview with WFLA, one resident stated that the sound 'moved a glass door in his home about a quarter of an inch'.

Here's a recording of the boom:


For comparison, this boom (and flash of light) was heard in Bridgewater, New Jersey on November 2nd:


Another gunshot-like, house-shaking boom was recorded on September 24th in Alabama on a home surveillance video. The post caught the attention of some YouTube viewers, reporting that they had heard the same noises in Philadelphia, Orlando, Indiana, Oklahoma, Central Florida and the Midwest.


The gunshot-like sound accompanying an exploding meteor is not uncommon according to Meteorites Australia. That's not to say that these mysterious booms couldn't be something seismic in nature or related to some other earth changes occurring on our planet.

Yet, local news agencies are (again) blaming the cause on the boom on an aircraft going supersonic. The Tampa Bay Times reports:
There was one possible explanation: Two F-15 fighters were given permission by NORAD to fly at supersonic speed - in excess of 760 mph - over the Gulf of Mexico, said Canadian Air Force Lt. Marco Chouinard, a NORAD spokesman.
There is more than one possible explanation, but local news outlets WFTS, WTSP and WFLA just repeat the idea.

In reporting on these mysterious booms a week ago, Michael Kuhne of Accuweather at least includes the possibility that these booming events could be something seismic or atmospheric in nature:
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.
Michael Covington, a retired professor and astronomer is quoted as saying that "a sonic boom from a meteor will be briefer than a sonic boom from an aircraft". The boom sounds recorded in these videos are much shorter in length than those made by an airplane. Sonic booms from supersonic jets would also have a trail of noise (as heard here) which is something we don't hear in these mystery boom recordings. And, if two jets going supersonic were the cause of the boom heard in the Tampa Bay area, wouldn't we hear two booms in the home video recording?

Whatever their origin, reports of these mysterious booms are increasing dramatically, rattling homes and nerves all over the planet. And given the sound and nature of these booms, we can't help but be reminded of the meteor that exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia on February 15, 2013, causing major damage and panic: