Mysterious Loud Boom Shakes Oklahoma, Locals Report Green and Orange Flashes

(RT) Residents across Oklahoma and Texas were jostled from their daily routines after hearing a loud boom Tuesday afternoon. Many were left scratching their heads and watching the skies for the source of the explosive phenomenon.

While the US Geological Survey has not reported any earthquakes in the region, the National Weather Services in Norman, Oklahoma has said it is possible that the deafening boom was the result of “a ‘bolide’ or the breaking up of a meteor.”

NWS Norman

Reports of a ‘shaking boom’ across central Oklahoma shortly after 4 pm today. Based on visual reports of meteor streaks in Oklahoma and Texas, and no earthquake reports from the USGS, it is possible the region experienced a ‘bolide’ or the breaking up of a meteor. 

A flurry of baffled residents shared their comments online, trying to make sense of the afternoon shocker. One nearby resident offered his account of the mysterious heavenly “green light” he spotted that afternoon.

“Meteor flew over Oklahoma City today at about 16:20, with a sonic boom and some shaking in nearby Norman! Was beautiful green and orange streak in the daylight,” he tweeted.

Chief Meteorologist for KFOR-TV OKC Mike Morgan was completely befuddled by the extraterrestrial visitor and asked others to clarify.

Mike Morgan

So it’s 5:45PM on Tuesday in Oklahoma and we are getting quite a few suspected Meteor “Boom” reports at about 520PM. Y’all got any more info. on this out there folks?? 

One resident’s speculation revolved around reports that China’s first space observation station was due to fall into Earth’s orbit at any moment.

“I was wondering if the meteor reports in North Texas and Oklahoma were actually Tiangong-1, but it looks like we’re still a week or so from that possibly happening,” he said.

Oklahoma is no stranger to unexplained booms, which have been attributed to an assortment of different causes. Last year, Midwest City residents were perplexed by large underground booms comparable to underground explosions, one witness stated.

“It turns out, this is a really neat deal. It has to do with water underground,” said Meteorologist John Slater. “With these cold fronts coming through, the water just freezes rapidly. And as it turns out, when it freezes, it expands.”

On January 25, 2014, News On 6 speculated that F-16 fighter jets from the 138th Fighter Wing division in Tulsa peppered the area with sonic booms powerful enough to rattle furniture and windows. However, the cause of the disturbances still remains a mystery.

Another shockwave dubbed the “Bama Boom” was felt across cities in Alabama on November 14, 2017. No explanation was offered other than either a hypersonic aircraft or meteorite shower.

NWS Birmingham

Re: loud boom heard: we do not see anything indicating large fire/smoke on radar or satellite; nothing on USGS indicating an earthquake. We don’t have an answer, and can only hypothesize with you. 1) sonic boom from aircraft; 2) meteorite w/ current Leonid shower?

Were they underground nuclear tests? Fracking adventures in the Midwest? No one will ever know.

The post Mysterious Loud Boom Shakes Oklahoma, Locals Report Green and Orange Flashes appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

ALERT: Shinmoedake Volcano Erupts In Japan

Powerful eruptions at a volcano in southern Japan spewed ash thousands of feet into the air on Wednesday as authorities warned locals not to approach the mountain. Shinmoedake volcano has erupted several times in violent explosions recently.

The Shinmoedake volcano, located on Japan’s southernmost main island, Kyushu, has been bubbling and rumbling since last week. The entrance to the volcano was closed and monitoring increased last week before it finally began shooting ash and smoke into the sky on Tuesday.

According to Channel News Asia, “The plume reached the height of 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) for the first time since Apr 3, 2011,” following a total of 29 eruptions at Mount Shinmoedake, Japan’s weather agency said in a statement.  People have also been ordered to stay away from the volcano as major ash deposits spread from the crater, the agency said.

The volcano, which featured in the 1967 James Bond film “You Only Live Twice,” has been grumbling since last Thursday. Footage captured by the Meteorological Agency showed lava and thick grey smoke rising from the mountain around midnight on Wednesday.

The volcano also produced so-called “explosive” eruptions, which also featured air blasts. This volcanoes eruption doesn’t appear to be triggering fear in the masses of a more violent “Ring of Fire,” but it’s nonetheless significant geologically.  Japan, has scores of active volcanoes and sits on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire” where a large proportion of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.

There were no reports of injuries or property damage, but Newsweek reported that eruptions were expected to continue and the risk of flying rocks and pyroclastic flows were possible.

Maryland House Overwhelmingly Votes to Ban Fracking

On March 10, Maryland’s House of Delegates passed legislation to ban hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, 97 to 40. The bill’s next hurdle is the Senate, where a key lawmaker has resisted efforts to permanently prohibit the practice. [1]

Senator Joan Carter Conway, a Democrat from Baltimore, chairs the Senate committee tasked with reviewing the proposal. She has said she sees no point in trying to get the legislation to Governor Larry Hogan’s desk until both legislative chambers can approve it with enough majorities to avoid a veto. She said that without enough votes to override a veto, it would make more sense to simply extend a moratorium on fracking. [1], [2]

Hogan supports fracking as long as Maryland implements strong safety measures for the gas-extraction method. [1]

The 141-member House needs 85 votes to override a veto from the governor, and the 47-member Senate requires 29 notes to do so. Anti-fracking advocates say they’re a few votes short of that number in Senate.

Mike Tidwell, director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said:

“If Joan Carter Conway declared today that she too supports a ban, then it’s going to go to Hogan’s desk, because not only will we have her vote, but several people have said they’ll support it if she does.” [1]

There is no hydraulic fracturing currently occurring in the state; but without a ban, fracking would be permitted in Maryland after October 2017, which would mark the end of a two-year moratorium on the practice. Conway has proposed a bill that would extend the moratorium another two years and require counties to hold referendums in 2018 on whether to allow the drilling method. [1], [3]

Garrett and Allegany counties are considered the parts of the state that are most likely to have gas deposits that could be reached by fracking. [2]

The majority voted to ban the technology after being shown scientific proof that fracking increases the risk of earthquakes, water contamination, and health problems in areas where the practice is permitted. [2]

Fracking’s Bad Record

Hydraulic fracturing is the practice of injecting water, sand, and chemicals deep within shale rock to release oil and natural gas. The technology has the potential to cause groundwater contamination, methane pollution, air pollution, exposure to toxic chemicals, and explosions. Moreover, each fracking operation requires millions of gallons of water. [4]

In 2013, several people were injured by an explosion at a natural gas well site in West Virginia. The explosion reportedly occurred when

“a spark triggered a flash explosion and a fire after a problem during the ‘flow back’ process when drilling fluids are pumped into storage tanks.”

In March of 2016, a federal jury ordered Cabot Oil & Gas to pay $4.24 million to two Dimock, Pennsylvania, families for Cabot’s pollution of their well water since 2008.

Source: U.S. News & World Report

And in 2014, 585 fracking-related earthquakes measuring 3.0 or larger on the Richter scale rocked the state of Oklahoma – three times the number that struck California. Experts fear the state could be rocked by a massive man-made earthquake at any time.

Sources:

[1] The Washington Post

[2] The Baltimore Sun

[3] Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility

[4] Carleton University

U.S. News & World Report

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.