My @whatsuptucson Twitter account nearly exploded tonight (figuratively of course) when people around Tucson started asking "what were the loud booms I just heard"? I didn't hear anything where I live.
The descriptions ranged from one loud boom to several loud booms, and seemed to be heard mostly on the southeast side, west, and northwest areas of Tucson. The incident even got a hashtag going on Twitter: #tucsonboom
The description of the booms ranged from a loud door slam to booms loud enough to activate nearby car alarms.
Based on what I've read in local news reports, it seems that aircraft, earthquakes, mine explosions, electrical transformer failures, and the Jolly Green Giant farting were eliminated as causes.
Zombies, aliens, and attacks from foreign countries also do not seem to be possibilities as well.
A few hours after it happened (around 7:30 p.m.-ish) no one seems to have an explanation. The good news is that whatever caused the booms didn't cause any death, injury, or damage to anything.
I posted a joke on Twitter suggesting that it was two large breast implants crashing together at an unsafe speed. That may be as likely of a cause as anything.
I'll let you know if the mystery is ever solved.
UPDATE 2/28/13: The mystery is solved! It turns out that an F-14 jet from Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona had gone to supersonic speed near Kitt Peak (in the Sells, AZ area) about 50 miles from Tucson and the resulting sonic boom was heard all the way into Tucson.
