  The enigmatic downchirped signals, called "perytons", that are detected by
radio telescopes in the GHz frequency range may be produced by an atmospheric
phenomenon known as ball lightning (BL). If BLs act as nonstationary
radiofrequency cavities, their characteristic emission frequencies and
evolution time scales are consistent with peryton observations, and so are
general patterns in which BLs are known to occur. Based on this evidence,
testable predictions are made that can confirm or rule out a causal connection
between perytons and BLs. In either case, how perytons are searched for in
observational data may warrant reconsideration, for existing procedures may be
discarding events that has the same nature as known perytons.
