[meteorite-list] Sonic Boom Heard Over England

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed Sep 15 16:53:52 2004
Message-ID: <200409152053.NAA26294_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/mid_/3659442.stm

Sonic boom blamed for 'explosion'
BBC News
September 15, 2004

A sonic boom from a low-flying jet could be to blame for a "loud
explosion" which stunned people in a Powys town.

Windows and homes shook in Llandrindod Wells when the noise rang out at
about 1100 BST on Wednesday.

Worried residents thought they were in the middle of a mini earthquake
and called the police and the RAF.

But experts said the noise was unlikely to have been an earth tremor and
more likely have been a sonic boom instead.

Powys Council's headquarters was one of the buildings where the bang was
heard and workers reported that windows shook.

Council spokesman John Evans said: "We don't have a clue where the noise
came from - it's a total mystery.

There are a number of possible explanations and it could have been a
sonic boom and maybe even a meteor that people heard.
Glenn Ford, British Geological Society

"It sounded like a lorry rumbling past the window, but our offices are
not close to the main road.

"It couldn't have been thunder either as it's a clear day.

"Some people at County Hall reported that windows shook when the noise
was heard."

A spokesman for the Metropole Hotel also reported hearing a "loud
explosion."

"It seemed to come from the area of the park across the road from the
hotel," he said.

Resident Marie Davies said she had been scared by the noise.

Thunder

"It sounded like a loud explosion, although I've never heard anything
like it before.

"There were some planes flying over at the time of the bang.

"Everybody in the town heard it."

Pc Clive Rees of Dyfed-Powys Police said the police station's windows
shook.

"We have received several reports from people in Llandrindod and others
from people living a six-mile radius from the town.

"I initially thought it was thunder, but on reflection there's no way it
was thunder.

"I've reported the noise to the RAF as it could have been a sonic boom
from a jet."

Meteor

An RAF spokesperson said it had received one inquiry about the noise and
would report it to the Ministry of Defence.

However, Glenn Ford, a seismologist with the British Geological Survey
in Edinburgh, said they had had no signals "consistent with an
earthquake in the area".

"There are a number of possible explanations and it could have been a
sonic boom and maybe even a meteor that people heard.

"But it's more likely to have been a sonic boom."

Like earth tremors, sonic booms can cause loud bangs and can shake
windows and homes, he said.
Received on Wed 15 Sep 2004 04:53:43 PM PDT