http://earthquake.usgs.gov/product/dyfi/usc000p92s/us/1396888732700/usc000p92s_ciim.jpg#usemap=imap_base

So... here's a question... why is the Oklahoma Geological Survey earthquake rating typically significantly higher than the USGS earthquake rating? Is OGS looking for more publicity with better attention-grabbing headlines that the local media then likes to trumpet over the USGS number(s)


I believe they use different methods of measuring so they aren't going to be the same. Nothing sinister.

I believe they use different methods of measuring so they aren't going to be the same. Nothing sinister.
Just makes for mixed messaging easily exploitable by the media... I would think that the USGS, with its wider coverage and influence, would be the standard bearer, but smaller numbers don't make for quite as dramatic headlines. Not necessarily faulting OGS for that, just wondering why they wouldn't calibrate their methods to achieve closer results to line up with the standard bearer.

Just makes for mixed messaging easily exploitable by the media... I would think that the USGS, with its wider coverage and influence, would be the standard bearer, but smaller numbers don't make for quite as dramatic headlines. Not necessarily faulting OGS for that, just wondering why they wouldn't calibrate their methods to achieve closer results to line up with the standard bearer.

I think it also depends where USGS is getting their data. I would imagine OGS has a more local network and USGS might be using a reporting station out of state. OGS did bring their number down to 4.3 at last look.

Updated the list and things are definitely off to a fast start for April.

ODOT Concerned About Earthquakes' Effect On Oklahoma Bridges - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports | (http://www.news9.com/story/25197128/odot-concerned-about-earthquakes-effect-on-oklahoma-bridges)

Maybe these will get ODOT to speed up on replacing them. :-P

Maybe these will get ODOT to speed up on replacing them. :-P

I don't see that happening, as the Oklahoma Legislature is voting on reducing by half their "off-the-top" money to increase funding in education.

Holy sh*t that one woke me me up :p they're getting bigger

Multiple aftershocks... That had to be above a 2.0...im guessing 5.0 or a little bigger

Felt a boom and my desk shook at work. I-40 and Morgan.

omg... its horrible!!!! there blood everywhere and screaming!!! WHAT IS GOING ON! HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? what.....is that? holy...

naaaaa, i'm just kiddin. it did wake me up though.

Hmmm...heard the rumble but didn't feel anything. I doubt it would be anywhere near 5.0 with no shaking down here.

4.1 per USGS

Hmmm...heard the rumble but didn't feel anything. I doubt it would be anywhere near 5.0 with no shaking down here.Man, then maybe the earthquake wizard is playing a late April fools joke on me because that shook pretty darn good for about 10-15 seconds and I just kind of laid there and thought "ok" and then it shook again for another 3 seconds and then again after that. They seem to be getting bigger though.

That's so weird how I'll feel a smaller one and then like the other day we'll a 4.5 and I won't feel it :p

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/product/dyfi/usc000pdy4/us/1397116366766/usc000pdy4_ciim.jpg

Yeah.... It's saying this was only a 4.1.... I wonder if some 4.1s are bugger than others though ;)

Didn't feel anything or remember hearing anything here in Norman!

Yeah.... It's saying this was only a 4.1.... I wonder if some 4.1s are bugger than others though ;)

I think depth and location can play a role in how it is felt, even if the magnitude is the same. Usually anything over 4.0 we would normally always feel here in Norman, but now it is hit or miss.

A 3.7 hit in the same area about 45 min. later. In Stillwater didn't feel or hear it or the stronger earlier one, or the two weaker ones near Perry that also hit early Thursday morning.

I haven't felt any in the previous couple months, but this morning sure felt and heard these. 4 in about 3 minutes time. The first one had a big boom and felt like someone kicked the bed I was on, and the house shook and rattled. The following three hit in the same manner but with diminishing intensity. Each one lasted only a few seconds.

I once again seem to have slept entirely through these in Norman. On ly felt one earthquake in the last two years somehow.

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I'm in NW OKC and I didn't feel anything either so don't worry...

ODOT Concerned About Earthquakes' Effect On Oklahoma Bridges - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports | (http://www.news9.com/story/25197128/odot-concerned-about-earthquakes-effect-on-oklahoma-bridges)

You have to love the irony.

The 1:00 PM, 3.7 quake 9 mi. WSW of Pawnee was noticed in Stillwater.

I once again seem to have slept entirely through these in Norman. On ly felt one earthquake in the last two years somehow.

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Or maybe there just isn't as much successful oil well drilling activity going on around Norman as there is around Guthrie and Stillwater. Besides, some of that just to the southeast of Stillwater, there is also oil activity going on to the northwest of there near Lake McMurtry, not real far from quakes centered ESE of Perry.

I slept through it, but there was 4.0 M earthquake a couple miles SE of Perry early Saturday morning.

USGS Reports 4.0 Magnitude Earthquake Near Perry - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports | (http://www.news9.com/story/25289049/usgs-reports-40-magnitude-earthquake-near-perry)

What sometimes causes the seismogram to go crazy across the page?

I slept through it, but there was 4.0 M earthquake a couple miles SE of Perry early Saturday morning.

USGS Reports 4.0 Magnitude Earthquake Near Perry - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports | (http://www.news9.com/story/25289049/usgs-reports-40-magnitude-earthquake-near-perry)

What sometimes causes the seismogram to go crazy across the page?

Not sure why they do that. Unless there is some ground work near the sites or the wind is causing enough of a disturbance - but I can't see how.

That one rattled the windows!

Didn't feel it.

Didn't feel anything this afternoon at work. Of course, it is hard to tell the difference between and earthquake and a Mad Dog/Stupid 80/Lawn Dart taking off. :)

I didn't feel the 4.0 one at 12:07 pm or the one 3.7 at 1:31 pm. Both between Guthrie and Edmond. I was with several friends at both times. None of them let on like they felt anything.

Recent commentary: ROB HILL: More quakes are shaking everyone up » Opinion » Stillwater News Press (http://www.stwnewspress.com/opinion/x1535573528/ROB-HILL-More-quakes-are-shaking-everyone-up)

3.2 earthquake Sunday night at 9:26 pm centered very near Stillwater. (Reports have it an hour earlier. Why, I don't know. However, this page reports the correct time: http://folkworm.ceri.memphis.edu/recenteqs/Quakes/quakes0.html) Centered just 2 miles southeast of Stillwater, it was once again coming from an area where there has been oil field activity going on. At least four wells there in a two square mile area.

I was finishing dinner at the Texas Roadhouse when the earthquake hit. A sudden rumbling noise came up with my table shaking two or three times. Never been in a public place during an earthquake. Was kinda surprised I heard no screaming. The atmosphere was almost like nothing had just happened. I asked the waitress if she felt the earthquake. She said yes, but wondered if it was really that. Maybe it was from the nearby carnival taking down rides or a large truck passing by. But it was an earthquake. Probably people are getting more used to the earthquakes than I am.

USGS shows 4 earthquakes in Okla today.

7640

It's nice to see another source, as in above, give the correct local time. I didn't feel the ones by Langston and Perry. They were weaker and further away.

Yikes, another earthquake just happened in Stillwater as of shortly after 1 am! The sudden loud rumble is scarier than the shaking. But it will be interesting to see if it went over 3.0 as well.

Yikes, another earthquake just happened in Stillwater as of shortly after 1 am! The sudden loud rumble is scarier than the shaking. But it will be interesting to see if it went over 3.0 as well.

I'm surprised the above supposed quake didn't turn up online. Neither did a loud rumbling noise that woke me up at 5:33 am. To ask a stupid question, have plenty of people heard sudden quake like noises, only to find it not listed anywhere as a quake?

I'm surprised the above supposed quake didn't turn up online. Neither did a loud rumbling noise that woke me up at 5:33 am. To ask a stupid question, have plenty of people heard sudden quake like noises, only to find it not listed anywhere as a quake?

The above quakes from early Mon. morning did turn up online after checking again, a 2.5 for the first one. The one at 5:33 am was 2.8. Both were only a mile SE of Stillwater. The noise they made was more startling than the shaking.

After a lull from last week, the earthquakes are picking back up some in frequency.

Forgot to mention I have the tally updated in the main article for this thread. April saw and overall increase to just under 17 recorded quakes per day, with the yearly average now sitting at 14.52. We had a decrease in sub 2.0 quakes but an increase in every other category less than 5.0.

I noticed the other night that Channel 9 has started posting an earthquake notice on the bottom left hand side of the TV screen when there has been an earthquake (ref: Perry).

I noticed the other night that Channel 9 has started posting an earthquake notice on the bottom left hand side of the TV screen when there has been an earthquake (ref: Perry).

We were watching The Big Bang Theory (5/1's) on DVR last night and they had the notice up pretty much the whole time during the show. How worthless and stupid, the earthquakes last a few seconds, they're nowhere near strong enough to cause major damage, you don't have to watch for them for hours during severe weather, ... Quit blocking a corner of the TV show for something completely unnecessary, TV weather people, just stop...

U.S. Geological Survey and the Oklahoma Geological Survey issues an earth quake warning for Oklahoma
(5.0 or larger)
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/rare-earthquake-warning-issued-oklahoma-194211634.html#944ul24

Mile for mile, there are almost as many earthquakes rattling Oklahoma as California this year. This major increase in seismic shaking led to a rare earthquake warning today (May 5) from the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oklahoma Geological Survey.
In a joint statement, the agencies said the risk of a damaging earthquake — one larger than magnitude 5.0 — has significantly increased in central Oklahoma.Geologists don't know when or where the state's next big earthquake will strike, nor will they put a number on the increased risk. "We haven't seen this before in Oklahoma, so we had some concerns about putting a specific number on the chances of it," Robert Williams, a research geophysicist with the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program in Golden, Colorado, told Live Science. "But we know from other cases around the world that if you have an increasing number of small earthquakes, the chances of a larger one will go up." [Watch 2500+ Oklahoma Earthquakes Since 2012 (Video)]
That's why earthquakes of magnitude 5 and larger are more frequent in states such as California and Alaska, where thousands of smaller temblors hit every year.

This is the first time the USGS has issued an earthquake warning for a state east of the Rockies, Williams said. Such seismic hazard assessments are more typically issued for Western states following large quakes, to warn residents of the risk of damaging aftershocks, he said.

The geological agencies took action after the rate of earthquakes in Oklahoma outpaced that of even California for the first few months of 2014. (California regained the lead in April.)

"The rate of earthquakes increased dramatically in March and April," Williams said. "That alerted us to examine this further and put out this advisory statement."
While Oklahoma's buildings can withstand light earthquakes, the damage from a magnitude-5 temblor could be widespread. Oklahoma's last major earthquake was in November 2011, when a magnitude-5.6 earthquake centered near Prague, Oklahoma, destroyed 14 homes and injured at least two people.
"Building owners and government officials should have a special concern for older, unreinforced brick structures, which are vulnerable to serious damage during sufficient shaking," Bill Leith, a USGS senior science adviser for earthquakes and geologic hazards, said in the joint statement.
While scientists haven't ruled out natural causes for the increase, many researchers suspect the deep injection wells used for the disposal of fracking wastewater could be causing the earthquake activity. Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, is a method of extracting oil and gas by cracking open underground rock.
Ongoing studies have found a link between Oklahoma's high-volume wastewater injection wells and regions with an uptick in earthquakes.
According to the USGS, the number of quakes magnitude-3 and stronger jumped by 50 percent in the past eight months in Oklahoma. Some 183 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater struck between October 2013 and April 14, 2014. The state's long-term average from 1978 to 2008 was only two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or larger per year.
If the earthquakes are caused by wastewater injection, then the activity could continue or decrease with future changes in well usage in the state.
"We don't know if this earthquake rate is going to continue," Williams said. "It could go to a higher rate or lower, so the increased chances of a damaging quake could change in the future."

I don't even know what that warning means, in practical terms beyond we've had a lot of earthquakes. I am scary ignorant on such things. I felt the big 2011 quake and two other smalls ones but none since, here on the far SW side of town. In weather forecasts, I understand warning vs watch. I am a bit confused as to how to interpret this one or if any similarities between the two types of warnings exist.

I don't want an earthquake damaging my tornado shelter.

I"m not that concerned w/ our "little Okie" quakes. Raging Grass / Cedar Tree Brush Wild-Fires are more dangerous, ...far more devastating. Tornadoes here are the primary threat and we manage too. ...so I don't put a little shaking here as a concern.

...my pictures don't even fall off the wall.

I'll like our economy just the way it is. Drill baby drill.

The part that really confuses me is that they said they typically issue these warnings after large quakes because of the prevalence of significant aftershocks. Is the same sort of dynamic going on here? It just seems really tenuous and I am ignorant enough that I have no idea the utility of doing this. Is there something I should be doing or are they just trying to give me a heads up so I won't be surprised? They give me a tornado warning and I'm all over it. There is an action verb included in my response. An earthquake warning? What is the action verb? Freak out?

I"m not that concerned w/ our "little Okie" quakes. Raging Grass / Cedar Tree Brush Wild-Fires are more dangerous, ...far more devastating. Tornadoes here are the primary threat and we manage too. ...so I don't put a little shaking here as a concern.

...my pictures don't even fall off the wall.

I'll like our economy just the way it is. Drill baby drill.

I wouldn't scoff at it, since the warning comes from two sources that closely study earthquake data. The warning said the 5.6 earthquake in 2011 destroyed 14 homes. But it was centered out in the middle of nowhere. What if the next one that strong is centered under Guthrie or Edmond? At least, I think I'm safe enough to be asleep should a real strong one happen. My only fireplace chimney, if it must topple over in the wrong direction, would fall through my great room, rather than my bedroom.

It's an advisory, not a warning

FROM: USGS releases statement on earthquakes in Oklahoma; not a warning | Kansas First News (http://kansasfirstnews.com/2014/05/05/usgs-releases-statement-on-earthquakes-in-oklahoma-not-a-warning/)

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has issued a statement that earthquakes have become more frequent in Oklahoma and that more can be expected. They did not issue an “earthquake warning” for that area, just an advisory that more can be expected in the years to come.

The goal of the advisory is to heighten the alert of residents there to the on-going potential of earthquakes. Oklahoma has long been known as a seismic-zone where earthquakes are possible, but there has been a 50% increase in the number of these quakes since 2013.

From October 2013 to April 14th of this year, there have been 183 earthquakes rated 3.0 or higher in Oklahoma, compared to an average of fewer than 2 per year in the two decades prior to that time period.

Table updates and here is also an new chart through the end of yesterday. We are currently on track to hit 5267 earthquakes this year that is up from 3057 last year.

http://www.weatherspotlight.com/screencap/quakes.png

I wonder if that correlates to increased fracking since last year or more millions of gallons of waste water injection.

It's an advisory, not a warning

FROM: USGS releases statement on earthquakes in Oklahoma; not a warning | Kansas First News (http://kansasfirstnews.com/2014/05/05/usgs-releases-statement-on-earthquakes-in-oklahoma-not-a-warning/)

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has issued a statement that earthquakes have become more frequent in Oklahoma and that more can be expected. They did not issue an “earthquake warning” for that area, just an advisory that more can be expected in the years to come.

The goal of the advisory is to heighten the alert of residents there to the on-going potential of earthquakes. Oklahoma has long been known as a seismic-zone where earthquakes are possible, but there has been a 50% increase in the number of these quakes since 2013.

From October 2013 to April 14th of this year, there have been 183 earthquakes rated 3.0 or higher in Oklahoma, compared to an average of fewer than 2 per year in the two decades prior to that time period.

Thanks for the clarification, Bunty. I've had several people mention the warning and I was able to mention this.

Agencies: Wastewater injection wells likely lubricating faults » Local News » Stillwater News Press (http://www.stwnewspress.com/local/x493491519/Agencies-Wastewater-injection-wells-likely-lubricating-faults)

^^its on the internet it must be true!


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^^its on the internet it must be true!


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Yeah, just like that "earthquake warning".

Yeah, just like that "earthquake warning".

As Pink Floyd always says, "I'm STILLLLLLL waiting!"


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As Pink Floyd always says, "I'm STILLLLLLL waiting!"


From my understanding, earthquake advisories like this are not the same as regular weather advisories we deal with. It isn't for something that is going to happen in a day or 2...just that trends indicated a larger quake is more probable now going forward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CArWivYt208

From my understanding, earthquake advisories like this are not the same as regular weather advisories we deal with. It isn't for something that is going to happen in a day or 2...just that trends indicated a larger quake is more probable now going forward.

Come on David...that was sarcasm ;-)


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Come on David...that was sarcasm ;-)


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Bah. I had like 3 hours of sleep last night. :-P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CArWivYt208

I was checking out his YouTube channel and found this comment:

I think all weather men should shout the weather, makes people more likely to remember it.

https://www.youtube.com/user/dogsandwolves

TvlEb3hC0Rw

Okay - back to earthquakes

I think all weather men should shout the weather, makes people more likely to remember it.
All you have to do is listen to KFOR or KWTV weather anchors and storm chasers during tornadic weather...