Strange Sounds Archive • Mystery Booms • 2013
From Christmas frost quakes around Toronto and meteor-generated booms over Florida to earthquake sounds, military sonic booms and unexplained blasts that rattled neighborhoods across North America, 2013 produced an unusually diverse collection of mystery booms, skyquakes and house-shaking rumblings.
This archive preserves the most significant and best-documented mystery-boom reports of 2013. Some events were eventually traced to meteors, shallow earthquakes, cryoseisms, military training or sonic booms. Others remain unresolved.
Important: “Mystery boom” describes how an event was initially experienced or reported. It does not imply that the cause remains mysterious today.
→ Mystery Booms & Rumblings Explained: causes, science and investigation
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2013 Mystery Booms — Key Facts
- 2013 showed how different causes can produce nearly identical eyewitness reports. Booms were linked to frost quakes, meteors, small earthquakes, military aircraft and explosives.
- The Greater Toronto frost-quake outbreak was one of the year’s signature events. Extreme cold following wet ground conditions produced widespread explosive cracking and shaking reports.
- Meteor-related booms were documented over Florida and the southeastern United States. Bright flashes followed by delayed explosive sounds provided a strong diagnostic clue.
- Small earthquakes produced surprisingly loud sounds. Connecticut and several other regions reported booms associated with shallow seismic activity.
- Several apparent mysteries were human-made. Military training, B-52 bombing runs and fighter-jet sonic booms explained some dramatic regional reports.
- Other cases remained unresolved. Red Bank, Evansville, San Diego and several other communities reported well-documented booms without a securely identified source.
How the 2013 Mystery Boom Reports Are Classified
Each event is assigned a confidence status based on the best evidence available today. The cause and the confidence in that cause are treated separately.
- CONFIRMED — strong instrumental, official or documentary evidence identifies the source.
- LIKELY — one explanation is strongly supported, but some uncertainty remains.
- UNRESOLVED — the event itself is credible, but no reliable cause was established.
- UNCERTAIN — the surviving historical evidence is too incomplete or weak for confident classification.
January 2013 Mystery Booms
January 3–7 — Red Bank, South Carolina: Repeated House-Shaking Booms Remain Unexplained
Residents around Red Bank and Lexington County, South Carolina, reported powerful cannon-like booms that shook buildings and prompted calls to authorities.
Investigators considered several possibilities, including seismic activity, military operations and exploding targets, but no definitive source was established in the surviving contemporary reporting.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNRESOLVED
January 8 — North Hollywood, California: Earth-Rattling Explosion With No Identified Source
Residents in North Hollywood reported a loud explosion-like sound strong enough to shake the ground and buildings. Police investigated but did not immediately identify an explosion site or obvious source.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNRESOLVED
January 9 — Evansville & the Tri-State: Hundreds Report Powerful Mystery Booms
Residents across parts of Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky reported repeated loud booms that rattled windows and buildings. The reports became particularly concentrated around the Evansville region.
Authorities and local media examined industrial, seismic and other possible explanations. No single source convincingly accounted for all of the reports.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNRESOLVED
January 9 — Utah: Window-Shaking Mystery Booms Traced to B-52 Bombing Runs
Powerful booms reported across parts of Utah were eventually linked to B-52 aircraft dropping ordnance at the Utah Test and Training Range.
The event illustrates how military activity can produce regional boom reports far beyond the immediate training area.
Cause: Military bombing exercise
Status: CONFIRMED
January 31 — Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi: Recurrent Booming Noises Linked to Military Training
Residents on Oʻahu reported recurrent booming sounds strong enough to attract local attention. The timing and location were consistent with military training activity.
Cause: Military training
Status: LIKELY
February 2013 Mystery Booms
February 20–22 — South Carolina Midlands: Mystery Booms Traced to Military Training
Residents across parts of central South Carolina reported loud booming noises and vibration. Subsequent reporting connected the sounds with activity at military training facilities in the region.
Cause: Military training / explosives
Status: CONFIRMED
February 23 — Palm Coast, Florida: Powerful Booms Shake and Rattle Residents
Residents around Palm Coast, Florida, reported loud explosive sounds accompanied by building vibration. No definitive source was established in the surviving historical reporting.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNRESOLVED
February 24 — Bradford, Vermont: Mystery Boom Linked to Military Aircraft
A loud boom that rattled windows around Bradford was linked in contemporary reporting to military aircraft activity.
Cause: Aircraft sonic boom
Status: LIKELY
February 27 — Tucson, Arizona: City-Shaking Booms Traced to F-16 Sonic Booms
Thousands of residents around Tucson, Arizona, reported powerful booms and house-shaking vibrations.
The disturbance was subsequently linked to F-16 fighter aircraft producing sonic booms.
Cause: Fighter-jet sonic booms
Status: CONFIRMED
February 27 — San Diego, California: Hundreds Report a Powerful Mystery Boom
Residents across the San Diego region reported a sudden boom and vibration strong enough to shake homes and trigger widespread speculation.
Military activity was considered a possible explanation because of the region’s heavy aviation presence, but no definitive source was established for the event in the surviving contemporary record.
Possible cause: Military or aviation activity
Status: UNRESOLVED
February 27 — East Naples, Florida: Loud Boom Rattles Windows
Residents in the East Naples area reported a powerful boom that rattled windows and raised questions about blasting, military activity or a sonic boom.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNRESOLVED
March 2013 Mystery Booms
March 13 — Rhode Island–Massachusetts Coast: Mystery Boom Shakes Homes Across Three Communities
Residents in Tiverton, Little Compton and Westport reported a loud explosion-like boom strong enough to shake houses. Police departments in multiple communities received calls.
No obvious explosion or local emergency was identified.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNRESOLVED
March 16 — South Jersey: Mystery Booms Traced to Fighter-Jet Sonic Booms
Residents across southern New Jersey reported powerful booming sounds and shaking. The disturbance was traced to fighter aircraft producing sonic booms.
Cause: Fighter-jet sonic booms
Status: CONFIRMED
March 19 — Rockport, Indiana: Loud Noise Wakes Residents
Residents around Rockport reported a sudden loud sound that woke people and triggered local investigation. The surviving record does not establish a sufficiently strong explanation for inclusion as anything more than an unresolved local case.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNCERTAIN
March 21 — Florida: Powerful Mystery Boom Linked to a Fireball
Communities along Florida’s west coast reported a powerful explosive sound after a bright object was observed in the sky.
The combination of a visible fireball followed by a delayed boom strongly supports an atmospheric shockwave from a meteor or bolide.
Likely cause: Meteor / fireball atmospheric shockwave
Status: LIKELY
→ Learn how meteors create sonic booms and atmospheric explosions
April 2013 Mystery Booms
April 4 — Windsor, Virginia: House-Shaking Boom and Flash of Light
Residents around Windsor reported a powerful boom accompanied by house shaking and reports of a flash in the sky.
A meteor or other atmospheric source is plausible, but the surviving evidence does not securely identify the cause.
Possible cause: Meteor / atmospheric event
Status: UNRESOLVED
April 9 — Tennessee & Texas: Loud Booms and Rumblings Reported Across Multiple Communities
Separate boom reports emerged around Nashville and communities in Texas. Because these reports occurred in different regions and surviving documentation is uneven, they should not be treated as one physical event.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNCERTAIN
April 16 — South Carolina & Georgia: Regional Booms Consistent With Sonic-Boom Activity
Residents in parts of South Carolina and Georgia reported loud unexplained booms. Contemporary follow-up pointed toward a sonic-boom explanation.
Likely cause: Aircraft sonic boom
Status: LIKELY
April 19 — Connecticut: Powerful Boom and Flash Reported Across the Shoreline
Residents from parts of coastal Connecticut reported a powerful boom strong enough to rattle windows, with some witnesses also describing a flash in the sky.
A meteor or bolide was later proposed as the likely explanation. The visual report followed by an explosive sound is consistent with a meteor-generated atmospheric shockwave, although the surviving historical evidence does not justify treating the cause as completely certain.
Likely cause: Meteor / bolide
Status: LIKELY
April 26–27 — South Carolina: Loud Booms Associated With Small Earthquakes
Small earthquakes in South Carolina were accompanied by reports of rumbling and boom-like sounds.
Shallow earthquakes can produce surprisingly sharp acoustic effects close to their source.
Cause: Earthquake / seismic activity
Status: CONFIRMED
May 2013 Mystery Booms
May 1 — Vancouver Island, British Columbia: Powerful Boom Heard Across Multiple Communities
Residents around Campbell River, Comox and Quadra Island reported a powerful boom heard across a broad area.
No single seismic, industrial or aviation source was securely established in the surviving record.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNRESOLVED
May 1 — Norfolk, England: Mystery Boom Traced to a U.S. Fighter Jet
A loud boom reported over Norfolk was linked to a U.S. military aircraft producing a sonic boom.
Cause: Military aircraft sonic boom
Status: CONFIRMED
May 2 — Mt. Morris, Michigan: Repeated Booms Rattle Several Communities
Residents around Mt. Morris and surrounding Michigan communities reported repeated booming sounds strong enough to shake windows and buildings.
Police or explosives-training activity was considered in some reporting, but the available evidence does not support confidently assigning one source to every reported boom.
Possible cause: Explosives training / human activity
Status: UNRESOLVED
June 2013 Mystery Booms
June 2013 — West Seattle, Washington: Early-Morning Mystery Boom Wakes Neighborhoods
Residents in several West Seattle neighborhoods reported a powerful early-morning boom that woke people and pets. No definitive source was established.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNRESOLVED
June 7 — Seymour, Indiana: Booming Noises Shake Windows and Furniture
Residents around Seymour reported loud booming sounds accompanied by noticeable vibration inside homes.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNCERTAIN
June 16 — Essex & Royston, England: Mystery Booms Identified as Sonic Booms
Residents across parts of eastern England reported dramatic booms that rattled homes. The sounds were subsequently identified as sonic booms from military aircraft.
Cause: Aircraft sonic boom
Status: CONFIRMED
July 2013 Mystery Booms
July 31 — Foothill Ranch, California: Flash and Huge Boom Rattle Neighborhood
Residents in Foothill Ranch were awakened by a massive boom that rattled windows and triggered car alarms. Security-camera footage captured a flash close to the time of the sound.
Investigators found no meteor impact or major explosion site. The available evidence pointed toward a powerful illegal firework or similar explosive device.
Likely cause: Illegal fireworks / explosive device
Status: LIKELY
September 2013 Mystery Booms
September 9 — Alabama, Georgia & Tennessee: Green Fireball Produces Sonic Boom
A bright green meteor was observed over parts of the southeastern United States, followed by reports of loud booming sounds.
The visual event and corresponding atmospheric shockwave provide a strong explanation for the regional reports.
Cause: Meteor / bolide atmospheric shockwave
Status: CONFIRMED
September 26 — U.S. Midwest: Meteor Explosion Produces Widespread Boom Reports
A meteor event over the Midwest generated bright visual reports and explosive sounds across a broad area.
Cause: Meteor / bolide
Status: LIKELY
November 2013 Mystery Booms
November 27 — Philadelphia, Mississippi: Repeated Booms Remain Unexplained
Residents around Philadelphia reported repeated boom-like sounds. Local authorities did not establish a definitive source in the surviving reporting.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNRESOLVED
November 27 — Madison County, Texas: Tannerite Considered After Powerful Boom
A loud boom reported in Madison County prompted investigation. Exploding Tannerite targets were considered a plausible local source.
Possible cause: Tannerite / exploding target
Status: LIKELY
November 28 — Connecticut: Thanksgiving Booms Linked to Microearthquakes
Residents in Connecticut reported unusual booming and shaking around Thanksgiving. The sounds were subsequently linked to small local earthquakes.
The event provides another example of how very small shallow seismic events can sound disproportionately dramatic near the source.
Cause: Microearthquakes / seismic activity
Status: CONFIRMED
December 2013 Mystery Booms
December 1 — Rome, Georgia: Police Investigate a Citywide Loud Boom
Residents across Rome reported a powerful boom heard over a broad area. Police investigated but did not establish a definitive cause in the surviving contemporary record.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNRESOLVED
December — Azle, Texas: Booms and Shaking During an Unusual Earthquake Swarm
Residents around Azle experienced repeated earthquakes and boom-like sounds during an unusual sequence of small seismic events.
The swarm later became part of the broader scientific discussion surrounding induced seismicity in North Texas, although individual boom reports should not automatically be assigned to a specific industrial mechanism.
Cause: Earthquake swarm / seismic activity
Status: CONFIRMED for the seismic activity
December 15 — Franklin, Georgia: Mystery Booms Baffle Residents
Residents around Franklin reported loud unexplained booms. The surviving historical evidence does not identify a reliable source.
Cause: Unknown
Status: UNRESOLVED
December 24–30 — Greater Toronto Area, Canada: Christmas Frost Quakes Produce Explosive Booms
During an intense late-December cold outbreak, residents across the Greater Toronto Area and Durham Region reported sudden cannon-like bangs, cracking noises and localized shaking.
The reports followed wet conditions and a rapid plunge to severe subfreezing temperatures — an environment favorable for cryoseisms, commonly called frost quakes.
Cryoseisms occur when rapidly freezing, water-saturated ground fractures under thermal stress. Because the cracks can develop close to homes, even relatively small fractures may sound surprisingly explosive.
Likely cause: Cryoseisms / frost quakes
Status: LIKELY
What Caused the Mystery Booms of 2013?
The 2013 archive is a particularly strong demonstration that“mystery boom” is an observational category, not one physical phenomenon.
Similar reports of huge bangs, vibrating homes and shaking windows were produced by completely different sources.
| Cause or status | Representative 2013 cases |
|---|---|
| Meteors / bolides | Florida, Connecticut shoreline, Alabama–Georgia–Tennessee, Midwest |
| Earthquakes / seismic activity | Connecticut Thanksgiving microquakes, Azle earthquake swarm, South Carolina earthquake booms |
| Cryoseisms / frost quakes | Greater Toronto Area and Durham Region |
| Aircraft / sonic booms | Tucson, South Jersey, Norfolk, Essex–Royston, Bradford |
| Military / explosives | Utah B-52 bombing runs, South Carolina training, Oʻahu training, possible Tannerite event |
| Unresolved | Red Bank, Evansville Tri-State, North Hollywood, San Diego, Vancouver Island, West Seattle, Rome and Franklin |
2013 Was an Excellent Year for Meteor Booms
Several of the year’s strongest natural explanations involved meteors. A characteristic sequence appeared repeatedly:
- a bright flash or moving fireball;
- a short delay;
- then one or more loud booms.
This sequence is physically expected because light reaches observers effectively instantaneously, while the meteor’s shockwave travels much more slowly through the atmosphere.
Small Earthquakes Again Produced Loud Acoustic Effects
Connecticut’s Thanksgiving microearthquakes and several other seismic cases reinforced the same lesson seen in 2012: small shallow earthquakes can sound surprisingly explosive.
The magnitude of an earthquake alone does not determine how dramatic it sounds to people near the source. Depth, local geology, distance and building vibration all matter.
Frost Quakes Became One of the Year’s Signature Patterns
Late December brought one of the most recognizable cold-weather mystery-boom outbreaks in the archive. Rapid freezing after wet ground conditions created a strong setting for cryoseisms around Toronto and surrounding communities.
The event demonstrates why weather conditions matter when investigating unexplained winter booms.
Military Activity Explained Several Dramatic Reports
Some of the loudest 2013 “mysteries” turned out not to be mysterious at all. B-52 bombing runs, fighter aircraft and military training produced powerful pressure waves heard and felt across communities.
This is why exact timing and official training notices are so valuable when investigating modern mystery booms.
Several Strong Cases Still Remain Unresolved
Red Bank, Evansville, San Diego, Vancouver Island and several other events remain unresolved in the surviving historical record.
That does not mean they require an exotic explanation. It means only that the available evidence is insufficient to identify the source confidently.
What Can Cause a Mystery Boom?
Historical mystery-boom reports have ultimately been linked to earthquakes, meteors, sonic booms, military activity, blasting, industrial incidents, frost quakes, thunder and other sources. Atmospheric conditions can also carry distant sounds much farther than observers expect.
The complete science belongs on the main Strange Sounds guide:
How the 2013 Mystery Boom Archive Was Compiled
Strange Sounds documented a large number of boom reports during 2013. The rebuilt archive does not attempt to preserve every original article as a separate timeline item.
Instead, reports are curated using contemporary local-news coverage, official statements, seismic records, meteor observations, military information and surviving witness material.
Multiple articles about the same event are consolidated into one historical record. Generic boom compilations, duplicate reports, unrelated explosions and weak unsupported material are excluded.
Where later evidence identified the source, the archive has been updated accordingly.
- CONFIRMED — strong evidence identifies the source.
- LIKELY — one explanation is strongly supported.
- UNRESOLVED — the event is credible but no source was established.
- UNCERTAIN — surviving documentation is insufficient for confident classification.
The purpose is to preserve the most useful historical information while making the archive more scientifically valuable than the original collection of individual news posts.
Mystery Booms of 2013: Frequently Asked Questions
What caused the Christmas booms around Toronto in 2013?
The late-December booms around Toronto and Durham Region were strongly associated with cryoseisms, or frost quakes.
Wet ground followed by rapidly falling temperatures created conditions favorable for sudden fracturing of frozen soil.
Were meteors responsible for any mystery booms in 2013?
Yes. Several 2013 boom events were associated with visible fireballs or meteors, including reports over Florida and the southeastern United States. Meteor shockwaves can arrive seconds or minutes after the visible fireball.
Can small earthquakes cause loud booms?
Yes. Small shallow earthquakes can generate audible cracking, rumbling or explosion-like sounds close to the source. Connecticut’s Thanksgiving microearthquakes are one example from the 2013 archive.
Were military aircraft responsible for some 2013 mystery booms?
Yes. Fighter-jet sonic booms and military exercises explained several reports, including events in Tucson, South Jersey, Norfolk and Utah.
Did all 2013 mystery booms receive an explanation?
No. Several well-documented cases, including events around Red Bank, Evansville, San Diego and Vancouver Island, remain unresolved in the surviving historical record.
What does “unresolved” mean in the Strange Sounds archive?
Unresolved means the event itself is credible but the available evidence is insufficient to identify the source confidently. It does not imply that the event has no ordinary physical explanation.
Browse Mystery Booms by Year
Explore the Strange Sounds historical archive of notable loud booms, skyquakes, earthquake sounds, sonic booms and unresolved rumblings.
Did You Experience a Mystery Boom in 2013?
If you remember one of these events — or another significant 2013 mystery boom that belongs in the historical archive — send the date, approximate time, location, what you heard or felt, weather conditions and any surviving recordings or contemporary sources.
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