A mysterious boom baffles Tampa Bay, and official sources shrug...

A mysterious boom baffles Tampa Bay, and official sources shrug

Residents in Pasco, Hillsborough and Polk counties took to social media Saturday to determine what caused a mysterious, reverberating boom that shook homes around 1:45 p.m.

...

Half a dozen government agencies all had the same answer Saturday: We don’t know, but we didn’t do it.

I'm in Northern Hillsborough county but I was grocery shopping at the time this occurred so I didn't personally hear it.

Any members hear this? Sonic boom or other? Speculation is that it is 'military excersise' related however no one has officially claimed it...

Other articles...

IS THIS WHAT CAUSED THE 'BOOM' HEARD ACROSS BAY AREA?

Unidentified 'explosion' heard across Bay Area

Reports of loud boom pouring in from Tampa Bay area residents

The theories on the Facebook posts on these articles have quite an extensive range... NK, Meteors, Military, Aliens, Tectonics...you name it... so I figured I'd inject it into the populace of ATS for posterity.

a reply to: UberL33t

Link doesn't work for me.

a reply to: TruthJava

My apologies... fixed...

a reply to: UberL33t

Funny, someone else just posted another thread saying there were mysterious lights heading over colorado, then out near area 51. Something is definitely on the move...

I heard it this afternoon up in new port richey. Also heard McDill claimed they had nothing to do with it? I am interested to hear if anyone has the answer here.

Bampa-Bay baffled by big booms?
BTF?

a reply to: Shadoseer99

Likewise...

Looks like this has been going on for a week or so in the Tampa area - by most accounts it appears to be sonic booms...



Also, from 2014 - same area...

a reply to: Sublimecraft

I read that also... but people who heard those previously said they paled in comparison to the one today. I really really wish I could have heard it.

a reply to: UberL33t

I live in North Tampa, however, I was in downtown between 1-2pm and heard no such boom.

Though it should be pointed out that much of west Tampa is under restricted air space because of MacDill AFB.

a reply to: Thorneblood

It's the start of a new Fiscal Year. They have money and flying hours again. There are a lot of exercises going on around now, and through Spring, then by summer they start slowing down slightly again, until next fall when they get money again.

Im wondering about cell towers. Could our own microwave emissions cause signal pops that do this?

originally posted by: Sublimecraft
Looks like this has been going on for a week or so in the Tampa area - by most accounts it appears to be sonic booms...

Also, from 2014 - same area...

A week you say?

Now that you mention it, I did hear some rather loud disturbances from the sky earlier in the week.

It was like thunder...like thunder. But on a day that was completely clear.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I did read one post Re: NORAD authorizing F16s to operate supersonic over the Gulf of Mexico.. depending where they were that is indeed relative to the areas that heard it.

People did report hearing 'jet engines' just after the Boom... That said though, Polk is central Florida. People reported dishes being broken in hutches... I'm not thoroughly educated on Sonic Booms.. but I'm not sure if a couple of supersonic F16s would cause that over the Gulf...

All that given the person posting said info was legitimate.

a reply to: UberL33t
I saw what looked like an AWAC fly along Hwy 301 when I was paintballing today. Im not really sure what an AWACS is, but it was a huge jet with a dome on top, and it looked cool as #. I have never in all my years even seen one come by, although I am sure they have. My friend that was playing with us said he saw it fly by earlier this week along the same route. There may be pics from the group, but they were counting down the game and we all had to start shooting each other.


Damn I had wished I did not leave my phone in the car. I really wanted a pic of it for myself. It was only a few hundred feet off the ground, and the base was still a good 12 miles about. What the hell was that thing doing here man?? Arent those for watching nukes and battle operations and #? I asked somebody tonight who is regularly out there, denied any knowledge of anything. Did anybody get a picture? IIB, did you see it?

a reply to: UberL33t

At a low enough altitude, they could break something. It's not likely, but it's definitely possible.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

AWACS are for command and control operations. They control other aircraft and have nothing to do with nuclear weapons or testing of them. They operate all over the country training with various units so that they know how to work together.

a reply to: Zaphod58
That is exactly what I said (well I added the nuke part out of ignorance. I thought they were able to see them launch or something) to the eight other people and kids in my group when we saw it. But I am telling you right now, at least 150 people at Orbital paintball looked up and saw this flying at the same height as the helicopters usually do right over the goddamn trees today in the afternoon along Highway 301.

Sir, just prior to that, one of the sheriff's helicopters had come from the same direction. Something in that plane must have went wrong dude, cuz why the hell was it that low that far from the base?? I don't see plans that low until they are like less than two miles out from the airport. Even the blackhawks that regularly seen for the Medical extraction guys fly over town are at least 1000 feet up. Does that dome give it better cruising aerodynamics so it can stay that low for miles? Anybody interested could also call the Tampa Machine auction that was about a 1/2 mile south of orbital paintball. It was so full that the overflow parking was both sides of the median on the highway. Maybe they were selling the plane in a private auction and had to demonstrate it? They would have seen it too, as it was following a bit east of 301 in a south by south west trajectory. There had to be at least double the amount of people at the auction as at the paintball joint.

a reply to: worldstarcountry

I'll almost guarantee that they weren't as low as they looked, but there are any number of reasons for them to be low, that don't involve having a problem with the aircraft. They could have been going into a civilian airport, they do occasionally, or doing a photo shoot with someone in the area, or any number of other things. They could have even just been sightseeing under ATC control. It wouldn't be the first time I've seen that happen.

a reply to: Zaphod58
It was certainly under 1000 feet, but at least three hundred. I get that measurement based on my estimate of the skyway bridge height. If I were at water level from not too far, it would be at or around, or maybe a bit above the top of that bridge. The bridge is 430 feet according to internet. Could it be responsible this caused the boom, or are there conditions at this height that could generate such sounds as a result of physics??