Flash over Anamosa (6 mi. S of), IA

The report, as filed

One clear calm night in August, while sitting in our hot tub behind our house, we observed three random very bright flashes of intense white light accompanied by no sound whatsoever. As we were in a reclining position facing east, we saw the first flash to our left and above the second story deck off the house.This immediately drew our attention to where the flash occurred and we commented on the brightness, what could have caused it and how close it might have been. Within about 30 seconds as we focused our eyes on the area above us, we both saw another bright flash directly overhead. It was so intense that we recoiled from the brightness. We both commented that it was like a flashbulb in close proximity, but we could not accurately judge how far away it was or the source. Over the next few minutes as we discussed what could cause these flashes, we became increasingly unnerved by the strange events. At that point, we talked about going inside. Suddenly, a third flash, of the same intensity came from a very low elevation to the north, this time. We saw it underneath the deck. Knowing the layout of our property and from our vantage point, we were able to judge that the flash was no more than 100 feet away and nearly on the ground or possibly touching the ground. It was then we realized this was much closer than we thought the first flashes may have been and not logically explainable. We hurriedly went inside for safety. It was some hours later that we summoned the courage to go outside with a flashlight and see if there was any evidence of the third flash, but found nothing. We have waffled for nearly a year as to whether or not we should report this, and finally decided to do it here. Thank you.

Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center (record NUFORC #177261). Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.