Were Southwest Alabama 'mystery booms' caused by exploding meteors?

It’s been several months since I’ve written about the unusual “mystery booms,” which were first reported in our area last November and were last reportedly heard in late January.

For those of you unfamiliar with the local “mystery boom” phenomenon, a number of extremely loud, unexplained “booms” were reported across Southwest Alabama for a period of about three months. Numerous theories were offered to explain the unusual noises, but no definite answers were ever found. Theories varied and include the off-burning of oil rigs, pranksters with homemade cannons, seismographic testing, high-speed naval aircraft, UFOs and meteorites. No evidence was found to support any of those theories.

I hadn’t thought much about the “mystery booms” since late January, but on Monday, I saw a story in the Mobile Press-Register that brought it all back to mind. The Associated Press story, under the headline “Explosion, fireball rattle the West; likely a meteor,” was datelined Reno, Nev.

The story detailed a Sunday incident in which a loud explosion was heard across much of Nevada and California. It rattled homes and prompted a flood of calls to law enforcement agencies. No damages or injuries were immediately reported, but witnesses said the incident caused shades to slam into windows, made babies cry and knocked a woman off her feet. There were no reports of earthquakes at that time of the incident.

Some witnesses also reported seeing a brilliant light streak across the sky at the time, and reported sightings of the fireball occurred over a 600-mile line across the two states.

Astronomers said that the explosion and fireball were likely caused by a meteor that entered the Earth’s atmosphere. They believe the “mysterious light” was a fireball, that is, a very bright meteor. One astronomer – Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society - said that fireballs occur all the time, but most occur in the daytime and can’t be seen. For a fireball to have been seen in the daylight, it would have had to have been extremely bright, he said.

Lunsford noted that its “pretty rare” for fireballs to produce a loud explosion. For that to happen, Lunsford explained, the meteor would have to have been large enough to remain intact before breaking up five miles above the earth. The noise may also indicate that some fragments may have reached the ground, he said.

I thought this story was interesting because it provided more details about a possible cause of the “booms” heard across Southwest Alabama several months ago. All along, I’ve been of the opinion that the “mystery booms” were the result of military jets causing sonic booms during high-speed flight training maneuvers. However, I’ve kept an open mind about the situation and think it’s interesting that a rash of exploding meteors may have caused the booms.

In the end, I welcome your thoughts on the subject. Readers with theories, accounts or ideas regarding the “mystery booms” in our area are invited to contact The Courant at 251-578-1492 or by email at courantsports@earthlink.net. To contact The Courant by mail, write The Evergreen Courant, ATTN: Lee Peacock, P.O. Box 440, Evergreen, AL 36401.