Strange lightning/jet sounds over northern WA this morning

I'm hearing strange sounds which at first when I heard them I brushed off as lightning only after a while the sounds got louder and louder, and I realized it sounds like a jet above or just the first part of a lightning strike without the following "BOOM" sound, also it slowly fades away slowly, making me think it was at least 20 jets or something flying from near the Canadian border over Washington state south toward Seattle. Weird... Any ideas as to what this could have been or did anyone else hear this?

a reply to: BigOrange

I live in Portugal and this sounds appear from time to time.... sometimes it takes hours to go away. In my experience it resembles a commercial plane falling from the sky but never really falling (if that makes any sense ).

The first time i heard it i had no idea it was phenomenon a lot of people experienced, months passed and i went and did some research because, why not?.... This is what i found: The Hum

It also lists a couple of possible explanations if you are interested... But it seems the cause is not yet known for certain.


Hope it helps!

It was definitely outside, and this sounded identical to the sound you hear at first after a lightning strike, but then it seemed to not be as sporadic and there wasn't a single BOOM or sign of lightning flashes, but it did start raining.

a reply to: BigOrange


How much time did it last?

About an hour. Seemed to occur at random intervals, and like I said it seemed to increase in sound every time I would hear it again, and has since stopped.

a reply to: BigOrange

Thanks for the info, the one i heard was a constant... but, everything else seems identical, of course since it is an unknown sound, people try to explain it in different ways and analogies.



I believe you experienced this Hum as well... too bad we still don't know what causes it. Maybe someone else can add something to this, will keep an eye on this thread.

a reply to: Syllar

I have asked 2 other people who are awake at this early time (4-5am) and both of them heard exactly what I was hearing, so it's not in my head or anything.

I hear this sound quite often where I live in the UK.
To me it sounds like a giant jet plane flying very,very
slowly and also falling out of the sky at the same time.

It usually lasts about 10 minutes and then fades away,can
be very annoying sometimes.

originally posted by: BigOrange
I'm hearing strange sounds which at first when I heard them I brushed off as lightning only after a while the sounds got louder and louder, and I realized it sounds like a jet above or just the first part of a lightning strike without the following "BOOM" sound, also it slowly fades away slowly, making me think it was at least 20 jets or something flying from near the Canadian border over Washington state south toward Seattle. Weird... Any ideas as to what this could have been or did anyone else hear this?

Question: did sound like: www.youtube.com...
Or possibly: www.youtube.com...

Or...did it sound more like: www.youtube.com...

My guess is that what you sound was much closer to: www.youtube.com...

If that's the case....don't worry about it.

I live in lancashire in the uk most nights i it sounds like theres a busy motor wat (freeway) right outside my window and other nights its so quiet dont know where the noises are comming from

a reply to: TonyS

Nothing like any of those. I'll find one that sounds like it. No hissing type sound at all. The second longer sound that slowly fades here at the beginning of the video that is most of the first 15 seconds of the video as far as the dominant sound. It sounded like that but the thunder has a much more unstable/vibrating/sporadic sound to it, where as this sounded much more gradual and defined like when a jet has passed over you. Normally people count the "one one thousand two one thousand" and so on for a rough estimate of how far away it occurred waiting for the loud BOOM sound to stop the count. There was no booms from this, and I heard many of them at random intervals, which seemed to get closer and closer. 2 other inviduals in the area confirmed hearing it in same time frame.

a reply to: zedy63

Interesting I haven't heard of one sounding like that. Perhaps the Hum the member above mentioned.

a reply to: BigOrange

well sounds more like the roar of busy traffic in the distance no car horns beeping or anything like that just a constant roar it can get really load

a reply to: zedy63

It was rolling thunder, not "jets." We had a big storm last night bringing much needed rain to the area--not enough for the rain to reach beneath the trees, but welcome nonetheless. Leave it to ATS to make a thunder and lightning storm, fairly rare for the area, into a vast conspiracy. Good Lord!

I wouldn't rule this out... Skip to 0:50 or so for the noise to begin.

Basically look for a power plant in the area. (Somewhere within 10 miles or so. Might be even further off if you're in a really quiet area, or situated in a landscape that can reflect the sound.) Sometimes it's just a part of plant maintenance, other times if a load is dropped on the grid they'll also do a blow-off so they don't over rev the generators. It's loud and sometimes it just keeps going for much longer than you'd expect.

Other than power production, some industrial processes that use a large steam boiler may also vent for various reasons. Same long drawn-out jet noise when that relief valve opens.

---- edit ----
Some other industrial/utility processes most people don't think of much are also noisy. Natural gas is one that has its moments.



And a few years ago, I did my best to overlay a "hum map" with a map showing major pipelines. I suspect how well they coincided with each other may be more than coincidence. I figure turbulent flow and other factors in large diameter pipelines running for miles can get them humming just like organ pipes.

a reply to: pauljs75

Interesting. That sounds much closer to what I heard, however that doesn't explain why it seemed to get louder and louder and wasn't constant. It seemed to occur about the random interval a thunderstorm would