FIRST : Let me assure you that icequakes and earthquakes are completely different. Icequakes don't typically measure on a Richter Scale and faults along the New Madrid Seismic Zone are not moving because of them. Icequakes are very rare and while they may have also occurred within a relatively short period of time to one another, they are unrelated. Microquakes (3.0 magnitude or less) occur frequently along the New Madrid Seismic Zone, even dozens per year. You may not realize it because they are rarely felt or noticed because typically the event happens at a deeper depth. The microquake that rumbled parts of the area on Sunday only registered 2.6 on the Richter scale but was very shallow, making it possible to feel or hear. About 5 years ago, I made the trip to Memphis to visit the USGS Earthquake Center and take our viewers greatest concerns and questions to the experts. I learned about how the New Madrid Fault behaved and about the historical releases of ...
The views and expressions of Meteorologist and Storm Specialist Jennifer Rukavina in Paducah, KY.