Sudden Swarm of 9 Quakes Along New Madrid Fault in Just Days

There's been a sudden uptick of earthquakes along the New Madrid Fault in Missouri with at least 9 new quakes being recorded in just the past few days.

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To be clear, there have been nothing even close to what would be considered a major earthquake in southern Missouri. But, the number of shakers in just a few days is interesting. The USGS is reporting that in the past 7 days there have been 9 measurable quakes with the largest measuring 2.6 on the Richter Scale.

2 of those 9 quakes were recorded Friday morning with 2 others on Thursday. It's worth noting that the 2.6 quake that was reported on Wednesday, August 23 was felt by nearly a dozen people. While this is still nothing to be alarmed about, it's a sudden increase of quakes that always seems to cause concern that they could be a forerunner of a larger quake to come.

Do earthquake swarms always precede a major earthquake?

The USGS notes that foreshocks do precede large earthquakes, but there's no way to know when a mini-swarm is just an isolated event or if it is a warning of a major shaker. They also added an interesting fact:

Most swarms are associated with geothermal activity.

Not aware of any geothermal activity in southern Missouri as all of the old volcanoes in the state are dormant...right?

As of this writing, this swarm along the New Madrid Fault in Missouri appears to be an isolated event. Let's hope it remains that way. You can check the USGS earthquake map for updates and new events anytime.