Another Odd New Madrid Quake Strikes Near Farmington

This was not a major seismic event. Let's get that out of the way from the start, but there has been yet another New Madrid Fault quake which has happened in an odd place - just to the east of Farmington, Missouri.

After a weird Monday where there was a significant 3.5 magnitude earthquake in southeastern Illinois and another around 10:41pm last night just west of Poplar Bluff, the USGS has confirmed that yet another earthquake has happened in our region. This time, it's an earthquake just east of Farmington, Missouri.

Infographic, USGS

Even though it was only a magnitude 2.0 on the Richter Scale, it was reportedly felt by someone when it happened at 11:25pm late Monday night. This is not normally the type of earthquake I would share since a 2.0 quake is very minor, but it's the location further to the north than usual combined with the uptick in activity earlier in the day.

Let's be clear that this is still no reason for alarm. There's no reason to believe a larger seismic event is imminent, but I will say that I will now be paying closer attention than usual to see if the New Madrid Fault and/or the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone do anything else strange leading up to the Fourth of July weekend.

UPDATE: There has now been a 2.3 New Madrid quake near Steele, Missouri in the bootheel.