Mystery Booms & Skyquakes — 2017 Timeline of Unexplained Loud Booms

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Mystery booms 2017 — worldwide timeline of unexplained loud booms and skyquakes
The 2017 timeline of mystery booms and skyquakes—verified reports, likely causes, sources, and videos.

Key facts (TL;DR)
Most 2017 “mystery booms” were tied to meteors/sonic booms, earthquakes/icequakes, and military or industrial events. Many remained unexplained due to brief duration and sparse instrumentation.

Jump to: Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec

What was that boom? In 2017, people worldwide reported thunderless loud bangs, window-rattling shockwaves, and brief pressure waves with no obvious source. Some were meteors or sonic booms; others were linked to blasting, military training, frost quakes, or power-grid incidents — and many stayed unexplained.

Common causes

  • Meteor fireballs & sonic booms creating sharp cracks and double-bangs.
  • Earthquakes & icequakes from shallow fracturing and freeze–thaw stress.
  • Military & industrial activity: demolitions, range detonations, transformer pops.
  • Atmospheric & coastal acoustics that carry sound unusually far.

Loud Booms — January 2017

  • January loud booms compilation. Strange Sounds
  • Jan 24 — San Diego County, CA (USA): Midday mystery boom; USGS showed no quake at the time. NBC San Diego
  • Jan 20 — Swansea (Wales, UK): ~10,000 homes lost power as a loud explosion was heard near the Marina. Evening Post
  • Jan 18 — Mount Holly, NC (USA): A mystery boom rattled the area. ABC News
  • Jan 16 — Wales (UK): Felt earthquake produced rumbling and booms. WalesOnline
  • Jan 16 — Greater Manchester (UK): A huge mysterious bang was heard across Salford and beyond. Manchester Evening News
  • Jan 13 — Marseille (France): Twin explosions sparked panic. Daily Mail
  • Jan 5 — Liverpool (UK): A really loud vibrating noise was heard and felt across the city. Liverpool Echo
  • Jan 4 — Kansas City area, MO (USA): Loud booms & flashes from Grandview to Belton and Raymore; ATF later investigated multiple explosions. OzarksFirst
  • Jan 3 — Southington/Wolcott/Cheshire, CT (USA): Boom with vibration across multiple towns. NBC Connecticut

↑ Back to top · Next: Feb

Loud Booms — February 2017

  • Feb 27 — Natchitoches, LA (USA): A loud boom nearly shook 50 homes; parish officials fielded dozens of calls. KSLA
  • Feb 13 — Hamilton, OH (USA): House-shaking booms baffled officials. WLWT
  • Feb 10 — Lancaster County, PA (USA): Repeated house-shaking booms across the southern county. LNP

↑ Back to top · Next: Mar

Loud Booms — March 2017

  • Mar 30 — Hartland, VT (USA): Loud booms rattled houses; officials probed blasting. Valley News
  • Mar 26 — Near Lake View, AZ (USA): A booming noise shook windows. ABC 15
  • Mar 25 — Gordonvale (Australia): A giant “explosion” felt like a small quake. The Cairns Post (via SOTT)
  • Mar 22 — Kenosha, WI (USA): Nighttime mystery boom frightened residents. Kenosha News
  • Mar 13 — Central Virginia (USA): M2.3 earthquake produced earthquake booms. WTVR
  • Mar 5 — Gatineau & Montréal (Canada): A possible explosion rattled parts of the metro. Ottawa Sun

↑ Back to top · Next: Apr

Loud Booms — April 2017

  • Apr 25 — San Diego County, CA (USA): Countywide loud boom. FOX 5
  • Apr 15 — Grandville, MI (USA): Booming blast rattled windows. WOOD TV
  • Apr 9 — Kennebec County, ME (USA): Afternoon loud boom; icequake conditions plausible. WMTW
  • Apr 3 — Big Spring, TX (USA): Community reports of big booms. Big Spring News (Facebook)

↑ Back to top · Next: May

Loud Booms — May 2017

  • May 26 — Kent (UK): Big unexplained bang across parts of the county. Kent Online
  • May 24 — Killeen–Temple area, TX (USA): Loud booms beyond usual Fort Hood sounds. KDH News
  • May 19 — Merrimack Valley, MA (USA): Evening boom jolted residents. Eagle-Tribune
  • May 12 — Sharps Chapel, TN (USA): Ongoing blast-like booms near Norris Lake’s Island F. Knox News
  • May 11 — Abergavenny (Wales, UK): Strange banging noises across town. Abergavenny Chronicle
  • May 7 — Central Florida (USA): Sonic boom during X-37B landing (video below).

Central Florida sonic boom associated with the X-37B landing (May 7, 2017).

↑ Back to top · Next: Sep

Skyquakes — September 2017

  • Sep 17 — Mid-Atlantic (USA): Bright fireball produced loud booms across multiple states. AMS
  • Sep 7 — Moranbah (Australia): Late-evening mysterious explosion shook homes. Daily Mercury

↑ Back to top · Next: Oct

Loud Booms — October 2017

  • Oct 27 — Eyre Peninsula (Australia): A meteor lit the sky and reportedly shook buildings around Port Lincoln. news.com.au
  • Oct 25 — Southern New Jersey (USA): Loud boom with rumbling from the Shore to Burlington County. CBS Philly
  • Oct 20 — Northeast B.C. (Canada): Astronomer: likely a fireball. CBC
  • Oct 17 — Southport & Oak Island, NC (USA): Coastal skyquake shook homes. WECT
  • Oct 10 — Riverview (MI, USA): Mysterious explosion rocked neighborhoods. The News-Herald

↑ Back to top · Next: Nov

Mystery Booms — November 2017

  • Nov 28–29 — Southern Arizona (USA): Multiple mysterious explosions shook homes and set off alarms. RT
  • Nov 28 — Caledonia, MS (USA): Sonic boom rattled windows. WCBI
  • Nov 26 — Rockford, IL (USA): Weekend mystery boom baffled neighborhoods. Q985 Online
  • Nov 25 — Southern England & Northern France: Blazing fireballs with reports of booms. Sky News
  • Nov 22 — Colorado towns (USA): Mystery booms shook Lakewood, Brighton, Lochbuie, and Elizabeth. Epoch Times
  • Nov 18 — Downriver Detroit suburbs, MI (USA): Large boom shook homes. WXYZ
  • Nov 17 — Lapland (Finland): Stunning meteor produced a huge bang (video below).
  • Nov 15 — Alabama (USA): Mystery boom across multiple counties; NASA had no meteor detection. Strange Sounds
  • Nov 1–2 — Bridgewater, NJ & San Diego, CA (USA): Flash with boom in NJ; unexplained bangs in San Diego. Strange Sounds
  • Nov (multiple) — USA: Roundup of increasing boom reports across many states. Strange Sounds

↑ Back to top · Next: Dec

Mystery Booms — December 2017

  • Dec 27 — Florence County, SC (USA): House-shaking boom jolted neighborhoods. WPDE
  • Dec 23 — Desert Hot Springs, CA (USA): Recurrent “baffling booms” startled residents. CV Independent
  • Dec 18 — Swansea (Wales, UK): Loud explosions heard around midnight. WalesOnline
  • Dec 11 — Tennessee (USA): Unexplained explosion across three counties. Herald-Citizen
  • Dec 2 — Pennsylvania (USA): Meteor fireball with loud explosion over several counties. PennLive

↑ Back to top

Report a 2017 boom we missed

Did you hear a mystery boom in 2017 that isn’t listed here? Drop it in the comments or send us a report with the exact time, location, and any audio/video. The more data points, the better we can spot patterns.

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