Tampa and St. Pete among the cities with most UFO sightings in Florida

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Cities with essentially the most UFO sightings in Florida

When pilot Kenneth Arnold took off from Chehalis, Washington, in his single-engine airplane one afternoon in June 1947, he was in search of a misplaced army plane that had crashed. However what he discovered was one thing utterly totally different—one thing that might set off a cultural obsession within the U.S. that persists right now.

Whereas flying round Mount Rainier, Arnold reportedly encountered nine curious, wingless objects rushing via the sky at 1,200 mph, quicker than any airplane on the time may. Arnold spent years afterward attempting to explain what he had seen, reportedly utilizing a time period that has been ingrained within the American lexicon ever since: “flying saucer.”

Since then, Individuals have been uniquely fixated on the concept aliens are someplace within the sky above us—and the quantity who consider that to be true is rising. In 2019, a Gallup survey discovered that 33% of Americans believed some UFOs were alien spacecrafts, whereas 60% felt they may all be defined by human exercise or some pure phenomenon. Simply two years later, in 2021, 41% of respondents mentioned they believed no less than some UFOs had been alien-related in comparison with 50% who had been assured any sightings might be defined by human habits or scientific occasions.

There are two important causes that perception in aliens has turn into so prevalent in the US: authorities hearings and popular culture.

America’s movie trade has all the time been one of the vital influential on this planet, and a wave of science fiction films in the 1950s, like “The Day the Earth Stood Nonetheless” and “Invasion of the Physique Snatchers,” perpetuated the concept there are different life-forms on the market. This continues right now with alien-centric sci-fi staples just like the “Avatar” franchise and the “Quiet Place” films dominating the field workplace.

Fairly than depart alien craft to the area of Hollywood, the U.S. authorities has addressed the question of UFOs, solely including additional hypothesis. In April 2020, the Division of Protection launched multiple videos filmed by army pilots that had been thought to probably seize UFOs. In July 2023, an Air Power veteran got here ahead to the Home of Representatives claiming that the U.S. army has been preserving necessary data on “nonhuman” sightings secret because the Nineteen Thirties.

Identical to it did within the Nineteen Fifties amid Chilly Conflict paranoia, the lore of UFOs can be at present experiencing a resurgence as many Individuals develop involved about nationwide safety. The notorious Chinese spy balloon panic in 2023 and fears over being infiltrated by the Russian authorities have led to many reporting seeing UFOs within the sky. Persons are additionally mistaking the spike in Starlink satellites for extraterrestrial activity. In November 2024, the Pentagon introduced that the majority reported sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs, as they’re now identified) will be attributed to balloons, drones, and different common objects, whereas nonetheless noting that many objects lack a ample clarification.

UAP and UFO sightings within the U.S. are notably concentrated within the West, partially due to the abundance of darkish sky areas, the place it is simpler to identify objects with much less mild air pollution. Those that consider they’ve seen one thing otherworldly can report it to the National UFO Reporting Center, which depends on volunteers to separate reality from fiction.

Whereas New Mexico and Nevada are maybe finest identified for UFO sightings, the National UFO Reporting Center data reveals that the state with essentially the most sightings is California, with greater than 16,500 experiences as of April 25, 2025. However what do the numbers appear to be in your metro space?

Stacker compiled a rating of cities with essentially the most UFO sightings in Florida utilizing knowledge from the Nationwide UFO Reporting Heart. Knowledge encompasses all experiences of UFO sightings relationship again to 1995. Sightings with areas listed throughout a number of cities weren’t included on this evaluation.

For now, the U.S. authorities’s official stance is that extraterrestrial life does not exist. But when the final century is any indicator, that may do little to curb America’s alien obsession.

Be aware: The pictures on this article are inventory photographs and don’t essentially depict the particular cities or occasions described listed.