WHALE STRANDINGS IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

 Example of Electrophonic Meteor.

In 1895 New Zealand, Queenstown, Gibbston a meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere at 9:30. Two large explosions were heard that turned night into day. The peculiarity of the explosions was that the people widely apart saw the "fireball" appearing quite near them, while the explosion seemed to be under their very noses as if the whole performance had been got up for their special benefit. It must have been a truly complaisant meteor one witness said. In the lead-up to the event there had been an unusual accumulation of electricity in the atmosphere, and several highly brilliant pyrotechnic displays had been the result, all of which were seen by numerous spectators. This included a cloud of luminous vapour that had risen from the ground to a height of thirty feet, covering a space of about sixty feet square. Light dwelt some five seconds after the appearance of the meteor.

Three days after the event above the ship Anthons was enroute from New Zealand to Australia when a meteor shower happened during a thunderstorm. The captain said the sight was a “fearfully grand one”.

A note to remember is that electrophonic meteors are not sonic booms, they are vibrations, loud vibrations that sound like incredibly loud explosions. The sonic boom could be there in the event but it is usually to high up and faint to hear until some minutes later. Another thing I've noticed is that electrophonic meteors can sometimes be concentrated in a rather small area.