Swarm of 4 Quakes Rattles New Madrid Fault on Thanksgiving

Let me say from the beginning that there is no reason for alarm, but if you're interested in New Madrid Fault activity, the USGS has confirmed a swarm of 4 quakes has shaken that region early Thursday morning.

The New Madrid Fault didn't wait long to say "Happy Thanksgiving"

I woke up today to 4 USGS alerts that there were confirmed quakes in the Missouri boot heel and also northern Arkansas. None of these quakes were major or even moderate, with the strongest only measuring 2.3 on the Richter Scale.

The 4 Thanksgiving morning quakes along with the 9 tremors in just the past 4 previous days shows a definite increase in activity along the earthquake-prone area of southern Missouri. Still, there's no reason to expect that a major quake is imminent. There are some that believe that small earthquakes help relieve pressure along faults, but seismologists seem to agree that there's no real evidence that smaller quakes prevent a larger event from happening.

Let's also be clear again, though, that we have no way to know if any of these small quakes we are seeing along the Missouri boot heel are a foreshock. The USGS has said that a foreshock is only identified as a foreshock after a major quake has occurred.

I often get ridiculed for sharing these small New Madrid quakes and that's fine. Just know that my only reason to do it is to remind everyone that Missourians must be earthquake-aware. The USGS says that the odds are good that one day the New Madrid Seismic Zone will unleash a life-changing quake. Make sure you have an emergency plan if that ever happens.