Western New York State residents baffled by mysterious ‘boom noises’

It was about midnight on a night last week when Randy Smith took his dog outside and for the third time this year, heard the mysterious booms. “Three times in a row I heard it,” Smith said. “It sounds as loud as a sonic boom. Maybe louder. As soon as it goes off, the dog starts growling and gets startled.” Smith and his father, Laverne Smith, live at 748 Lewiston Rd. (Route 77) and have been hearing the booms for nearly two years now. They cannot pinpoint the source of the noise. “You can’t tell what direction it’s coming from,” Laverne Smith, 76, said. “The last good weather we had I was out near the shed and heard it.” Last year they heard the booms about 10 times, sometimes during the day and sometimes at night. “It seems to be just around here,” Randy Smith said. “I asked my sister who lives in Alabama Center and she hasn’t heard it.” It is a phenomena that has sparked curiosity throughout the country for several years now.