Oct 17, 2014 I Paul Seaburn

No Explanation For Boom And Debris Field Over Louisiana

A mysterious boom heard on Monday, October 13, at 4:30 pm over the ArkLaTex area (intersection of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas) has still not been identified.

Residents of Shreveport in the northwest corner of Louisiana described the sound as being similar to a sonic boom that was powerful enough to rattle walls and windows, knock objects off of shelves and in one case lift a couch off of the floor. The weather was clear and no one reported seeing lightning, bright flashes or any ground impacts. However, the National Weather Service radar recorded an unexplained dense debris field over 1,000 high showed up on radar in the area near Shreveport shortly after 4:30 (image shown above). The debris field was visible for at least 90 minutes.

The local Fox TV affiliate said that the “radar image appears similar to the debris field that was seen as a result of the explosion at Camp Minden in October 2012.” Camp Minden is a Louisiana National Guard camp and officials there and at nearby Barksdale Air Force Base reported that nothing occurred at either location that could have caused the noise. The area is populated with oil and gas refineries but none of them reported any explosions and the U.S. Geologic Survey reported no seismic activity in the ArkLaTex area.

What could have caused the boom and the debris field and are they related? The boom and subsequent debris field are often indicators of a meteor explosion but no witnesses reported any streaks in the sky over Louisiana or any other states that might have been in its path.

space plane 570x399
X-37B space plane after landing in 2012.

Is it related to the equally mysterious X-37B Air Force space plane? That craft’s mission was scheduled to end with a landing at Vandenberg AFB in California sometime this week but it did not land on October 13. A flight path over Shreveport could conceivably cause a sonic boom, but it would have been heard at other points along the path. Then there’s the debris field – why would a secret mission create such a visible event?

An explosion and a debris field. No one is taking responsibility. No one has an explanation - official or unofficial. What else could have caused them?

Paul Seaburn

Paul Seaburn is the editor at Mysterious Universe and its most prolific writer. He’s written for TV shows such as "The Tonight Show", "Politically Incorrect" and an award-winning children’s program. He's been published in “The New York Times" and "Huffington Post” and has co-authored numerous collections of trivia, puzzles and humor. His “What in the World!” podcast is a fun look at the latest weird and paranormal news, strange sports stories and odd trivia. Paul likes to add a bit of humor to each MU post he crafts. After all, the mysterious doesn't always have to be serious.

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