Big Jolt Felt in Southern Illinois Thursday Was NOT an Earthquake

Many reported feeling an earthquake extremely early Thursday morning in southern Illinois. The shaking they felt was real, but it was not an earthquake according to the USGS.

When I heard talk of a southern Illinois earthquake, I went immediately to the USGS earthquake page and saw there was indeed a shaking at 12:03am Thursday, December 19 and it was felt in southern Illinois. Here's the epicenter according to the USGS.

This shaking was reviewed by a seismologist at the USGS and was rated a 2.3 magnitude event right across the Illinois border in Kentucky, but it was not an earthquake. It was instead a mine collapse.

I have not been able to find any reports of miners injured, so hoping this was just an unusual geological event that had no connection to humans. You know a mine collapse is major when it registers this large on the seismic scale.

So, it you felt a jolt in southern Illinois overnight Thursday morning, you weren't dreaming or imagining it. It was a real event, just not the quake you maybe thought it was.