A peal (1) a ringing of a set of bells, (2) a loud burst of noise. A peel is the skin or rind of a fruit or vegetable. So bananas and oranges have peels, and laughter and thunder come in peals.
Examples
In the conference rooms surrounding the lobby, only the occasional peal of a siren interrupted the day’s pow-wows. [Mother Jones]
Orange-eaters who dismiss the peels in favor of the good stuff within are missing out on some considerable bonus health benefits. [Consumerist]
A top team of bellringers at St Leonard’s Church in Seaford performed an epic peal of bells. [Sussex Express]
Santorum looked up from his knitting and scowled, while Rick Perry slipped on a banana peel. [CrassTalk]