Over 130 UFO sightings reported in WA this year? Here’s where and what people are seeing
Washington state residents have reported 133 individual sightings of unidentified flying objects across the state this year, according to the National UFO Reporting Center.
While many people associate UFOs — Unidentified Flying Objects — with alien visitors from other planets, the term refers to any aerial phenomenon that cannot be explained. In recent years, the United States government has also begun referring to them as UAPs — Unidentified Flying Phenomenon.
Scientists and skeptic organizations eventually identify many reported UFOs as being more mundane in nature, such as atmospheric phenomena or man-made objects. A common misconception recently has come from Starlink, a group of satellites that reflect light down to Earth, creating an ominous formation of bright lights traveling across the night sky.
Still, UFO reports persist.
So far this year, Seattle leads the way in Washington for UFO sightings with 11 reports, followed by 10 in Tacoma and eight in Spokane, according to the National UFO Reporting Center.
Washington has been a hotbed for UFO sightings. A recent study shows that the Evergreen State has been the most third-most active state in sightings since 1974 with 6,866 reports, falling just behind Florida (7,749) and California (15,401).
The study by myvision.org — a site that provides evidence-based information on eye health — also analyzed the last five years-worth of reports from the National UFO Reporting Center. Washington was ninth on the list with 1,297 sightings per 100,000 residents.
The latest UFO reported to the National UFO Reporting Center was on Oct. 8 in multiple locations, including in Tacoma and Bellingham.
The Tacoma report states that the witness noticed what looked like “spinning disk” for several minutes, while the Bellingham report mentioned blinking lights in the sky. Both reports included photos.
A group of reports was made around Puget Sound on Sept. 9 that detailed a satellite that seemed to “zig zag” several times across the sky before disappearing.
“Pulsating circle, very bright took an erratic turn and disappeared in a bright flash,” a second report in Darrington on the same night read.
The National UFO Reporting Center was founded in 1974 by noted UFO investigator Robert J. Gribble, the organization’s website states. The center has processed more than 150,000 reports.
The center’s primary function has been “to receive, record and to the greatest degree possible, corroborate and document reports from individuals who have been witness to unusual, possibly UFO-related events.”
The website UFO Stalker also provides a live map of all UFO sightings in the United States and even the occasional reported alien encounter.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 210,076 UFOs had been reported to the authorities or a UFO-spotter site nationwide all-time. Over 470 of those have come in just the last month.
This story was originally published November 2, 2022 at 8:53 AM with the headline "Over 130 UFO sightings reported in WA this year? Here’s where and what people are seeing."
