What is behind the mystery boom phenomenon North America is currently experiencing? I’ve been tracking reports of these unexplained explosions for a few years now, and they are without a doubt on the rise as this week a startlingly high number of mystery booms were reported throughout North America. It began on January 31 when residents of three separate counties in Tennessee reported hearing a loud boom around 11:30 a.m. Local chemical plants were contacted but reported nothing anomalous. Authorities in Bradley, McInn, and Polk counties are still investigating what could have caused such a powerful noise.

That same day, local news in North Carolina reported that people in Wake and Franklin counties have been calling law enforcement agencies to report unexplained loud blasts and booms that keep them awake at night. Two homeowners even reported that the booms are so powerful that they have briefly lost power as a result of the tremors. So far, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office has been unable to pinpoint the source of the booms.

People in Cranston and Johnston, Rhode Island reported strange booms loud enough to shake their entire houses on February 2.

The next night on February 3, residents of Park Slope, Brooklyn heard a powerful anomalous boom and notified the NYPD and FDNY. While a manhole explosion was suspected in that case, neither agency could identify the cause of the explosion-like sound.

On February 4, local CBS affiliate 4WWL reported that people in Harahan and River Ridge, Louisiana have been hearing “strange cannon-like sounds” that wake them up at night. Residents say the sounds have been going on for weeks, and nobody seems to know what causes them. River Ridge resident Crystal Roddy told 4WWL that the sounds sound like “something is dropping and something big landed on the ground.” According to the report, Louisianians say the booms are becoming more frequent.

Today, February 5, Philadelphians are once again wondering what could be causing mysterious explosions, this time a series of them. Philadelphia was rocked by a series of mystery booms exactly one week ago, and both incidents have yet to be explained.

Day after day, local news stations around the country publish reports which show an endless stream of terrifying, ground-shaking explosions powerful enough to shake houses, wake people up in the middle of the night, and generally terrify everyone who hears them. Why isn’t more attention being paid to the phenomenon? Could it be that officials are paying attention and merely not telling us about it? Cryoseisms or “frost quakes” have been suspected in some incidents in cold climates, but the booms have been heard in areas where temperatures don’t typically plunge low enough for the phenomenon – not to mention the fact that the booms are heard throughout the year. Could these anomalous sounds be sonic booms caused by undisclosed aircraft activity? Any guess is as good as any at this point.