The Herald Net reported that a bang was heard on Wednesday night by residents of both Kitsap and Snohomish counties. One resident of Mountlake Terrace even named it as "The Quarantine Boom of 2020."
Scientists said that it was likely a meteor's sonic boom that sent vibrations throughout the region. David Carlos, a resident of Mountlake Terrace, said that while he was watching television, he suddenly felt a dull shake in his home startling his cat sleeping beside him. His wife said that something must have hit their house, so he went out to investigate.
He thought that maybe a neighbor had thrown something bigger than a frisbee or a soccer ball against the house, but that does not seem to be the case and neither was it a bird who crashed on the roof.
He then decided to open his Facebook account and learned that he was not the only one who saw or felt something peculiar at that time. A lot of residents in Snohomish County have also reported hearing the sound from Brier, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, Edmonds, Mukilteo and Everett.
The Quarantine Boom of 2020: What was it?
A sister paper of the Daily Herald named the Bainbridge Island Review, compiled experiences and reports from across the Kitsap County during the sonic boom.
Nicole Daugherty recalled her experience that night while walking with her boyfriend on the Interurban Trail, near Dick's Burgers in Edmonds, she described it as a truck going over speed bumps but sounds weirder.
Another also reported that while she was repotting her herbs, her husband came running from outside thinking, she knocked over the outdoor table and all the pots along with it. She then saw an owl soar through a neighbor's yard who seemed as scared as both of them.
Various theories have been made, and one by one, they were eliminated. The theory that it was a thunder was rejected, and it probably was not an explosion-even the Mt. St. Helens was also suspected, but that seemed very unlikely.
Some say it was an earthquake, yet the U.S. Geological Survey dismissed it saying that they have not recorded anything even a tiny one movement from the volcano.
The last theory now is that a meteor caused the explosion.
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Fireball Meteor with a Sonic Boom
One Brier resident was able to capture an evidence supporting the idea that the explosion came from a meteor. Scott Story, 49 years old, uploaded on his Youtube account on Wednesday night a video entitled "Fireball meteor with sonic boom in Seattle on May 6 2020." It immediately became viral and reached 23,000 views and counting.
According to Story, he was preparing to make dinner when he heard a boom which he first thought was a jet. He immediately turned to the internet and saw someone post about seeing a meteor streak in the sky.
He went outside then checked his house camera, and sure enough, a camera facing to the west and a little bit to the south captured something. It was a brief, bright streak across the sky, and three minutes later, a sonic boom was heard.
Story said that it was his first time seeing a meteor lit up in broad daylight and something that created a sonic boom that could be felt for miles.
Toby Smith, University of Washington's senior lecturer in Astronomy, said that the meteor must have entered Earth's atmosphere and judging by how briefly the streak could be seen, it looked like it broke up fairly high in the atmosphere. He said that the meteor probably broke apart before hitting the ground, and so there is only a slim chance that some fragment hit land or water.
Scientists said that the meteor was a random event and not part of Eta Aquarid meteor shower since they are too tiny to create a sonic boom.
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