No one really knows for sure, but we think it may have been a sonic boom. There are reports of people hearing it all over rolla and so far it's the only theory that fits.

I have also heard that it was a sonic boom. Apparently fighter planes fly out of an air base in kansas city, and although federal law prohibits supersonic flight over land, planes can be authorized to do that under special circumstances. Given the power of the noise and the radius that it affected, a sonic boom would seem to be the most plausible explanation. If it was an explosion, as some have suggested, I think we would have seen smoke, or fire or some other indication that an explosion had occured.

The Air Force base that you are referring to is Whiteman Air Force Base, near KC. The only problem is that only B2 bombers fly out of that base. As far as we, the public, know the B2 is incappable of normal Supersonic flight. Meaning that in an overspeed dive it could probably break the speed of sound, but would most likely be overstressed and be severly damaged or break apart. I would go with the fighter jet theory, but there is no need to even guess at what base it flew out of. It could have been Air National Guard Jets out of STL,KC, Little Rock, or any number of other mid to large cities whose airports support National Guard Aircraft. It also could have been a normal Air Force Jet out of any number of many, many AF bases spread throughout the US. Hell at 700+ mph it doesn't take long to travel anywhere from here.

I beleive it was blasting over on 72 where they have the signs blast zone and things posted all down the road. They are breaking up some bedrock for a new road