We are now entering another quiet period for our Michigan weather so I thought it would be a good time to post a bit of the earthquake history for Michigan.
Part of earth sciences study includes the study of earthquakes rumbling below the earths crust. They can be unsettling because there is little or no warning before they hit. We have nothing like the earthquakes out west along the San Andreas fault or the ring of fire in the Pacific which almost constantly moans and complains.
Here is a list of the most intense earthquakes originating in Michigan:
2011 Grosse Pointe – Magnitude 3.0
On February 23, 2011, the residents of Grosse Pointe felt the ground shake after an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.0 was registered. No property damage was recorded and most residents did not recognize that an earthquake was occurring.
2015 Union City – Magnitude 3.3
On June 30, 2015, an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.3 was registered in Union City, Michigan. Not only was this one of the biggest earthquakes in Michigan’s history, but it came less than two months after a larger earthquake occurred less than 30 miles away.
1994 Lansing – Magnitude 3.5
On September 2, 1994, outside of Lansing in Potterville, an earthquake that registered 3.5 on the magnitude scale was recorded. The earthquake was felt as far as Jackson, MI and Grand Rapids.
1988 Wakefield – Magnitude 3.6
On January 14, 1988, an earthquake with an epicenter in Wakefield, MI registered a 3.6. This is believed to be the largest registered earthquake in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
2015 Galesburg – Magnitude 4.2
Originating in Kalamazoo county near the town of Galesburg, this is the strongest recorded earthquake in Michigan in the 21st century. On May 2, 2015, Residents across Southern Michigan felt the ground shake and objects move in their homes, however no reports of damage was recorded.
1947 Coldwater – Magnitude 4.6
This is believed to be the most intense earthquake ever recorded with an epicenter in the state of Michigan. The earthquake hit the town of Coldwater on August 10, 1947, and caused building damage in the city of Coldwater, Kalamazoo, and surrounding cities. People could feel the ground shake in cities as far away as Cadillac, MI, Cleveland, and Chicago.
According to scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, earthquakes that happen east of the Rocky Mountains can cause long-distance tremors compared to a quake of the same size out West.
Our area of North America has rocks that have been subjected to extreme pressure and temperatures. They’re also millions of years older than the rocks that formed out West, and their early fault lines have had a lot more time to heal.
All that makes our rock layers here tougher than what you’d find west of the Mississippi River, and so seismic waves produced by earthquakes travel more easily through our rocks.
The USGS tracks earthquake activity around the U.S. and the world. I will be adding a widget here to track them also.
Skywarn spotter training sessions have now been set up for SW Michigan – I am planning on attending the one at Luella Collins in Shelbyville as I have the past several years. I will post the maps next week so you know how to get there as it is hidden out in the county. I also have materials here on this site if you would like to study in the comfort of your home.
I’ll always remember the 1994 Earthquake…it woke me up from a nap on the waterbed, due to the water moving back and forth 😉 It took a while to figure out what had happened.
We will have plenty chances of snow still going forward it won’t last long though just will keep adding to a all ready above normal Snowfall for GR … Looking ahead the first two weeks of April looks to be below normal but that’s nothing new I believe we had a Winter weather Advisory on April 19th of last year if I remember lol… The month of May usually gets me warm excited INDY’S favorite month that’s not far away I’m ready for some good thunderstorms with no thunderstorms this winter I miss the loud sounds ….INDY!!
Actually we had a couple small thunderstorms about a month ago when one of the fronts came through.
Not at thee YARDofBRICKS ..INDY!
Spring is on it’s way!!
As it looks like we will not be seeing much snow going forward here are the total seasonal snow fall totals from around Michigan. Grand Rapids 75.6” Muskegon 69.4” Holland ??? Lansing 36.9” Detroit 29.4” Flint 48.8” Saginaw 41.9” In norther lower Michigan
https://www.weather.gov/apx/snowgraph_ytd
Marquette 208.1” and now off to our west Chicago 41.5” (+10.6”) Rockford 51.2” (+19.0”) Milwaukee 48.4” (+8.7”) Madison 53.1” (+10.3”) Green Bay 67.5” (+25.2”)
Slim
Slim, do you know what the average seasonal snowfall is for Lansing?
Lansing is around 47″ so 10″ below
Muskegon is 94″ so 25″ below
Detroit is 44″ so 15″ below
The total snow fall for Lansing is not correct. For some reason the snow fall from January 22 to the 31st is missing.
Slim
I put up a temporary logo on top – can any of you guess what storm the radar depicts???
My guess would be the May 31, 1998 Derecho
Slim
correct!
That was my guess too.
While GR has gone above average with snowfall, that is not the case as you go West towards the lakeshore. There were no big lake effect snows this season, and most of the time there was lake effect, it all blew over this area further inland. Holland and Muskegon are well below normal for snowfall, and I would guess here in Zeeland it is as well. After the past couple days with light lake snows, I took some measurements around the yard. We are probably sitting at our 2nd highest snow depth of the season, and it is only 4… Read more »
I saw that. West Michigan as a whole is still well below average snowfall. So is most of central and eastern Michigan. If only every winter could be like this past one!
Not sure what Hollands total is but Muskegon has reported 69.4″ so far. That is well below their average to date but not that far from Grand Rapids total so far. There are more total snow fall amounts above.
Slim
A new state record low was set in Illinois. The powers that be have made it official a new record state record low was set on January 31st for the state of Illinois at Mt Carroll. The new record is -38° the old state record was -36° at Congerville
Slim
Anyone up for a contest??? Here at Grand Rapids the highest it has gotten so far this March is just 35° In Grand Rapids recorded history the mean maximum (the warmest for the month) for March is 67° There have been 5 years when the temperature reached 80 or better (87 in 2012) 51 years when it reached 70 or better 36 years when it reached 60 or better 28 years when it reached 50 or better and so far only 4 years when it did not reach 50 (1965 43. 1900 47 and 1956 49) any way any one… Read more »
62
57* degrees is INDY’S Guess!
My guess is 69
49.4 degrees with plenty of snow in March!
It is nice to see the cpc is now showing below normal temps for the third week of March! Maybe some more SNOW!!!! Bring it!
I would not be too surprised to see a chance of snow in late March and even in April.
Slim
LOL That implies high temps in the low 40’s.
After today we look to start our upward battle toward spring. It is always a up and down battle for the next two months or so but this year might be even more so with all of the snow to our north and northwest we may have some cold shots well into April. We shall see.
Slim
Let’s get spring going we have lots of snow on the ground to melt!! Now
that GR will finnish above snowfall for the season it’s time bring on Thunderstorms and warmer temps INDY is ready …Have a good Thursday MV’s best …INDY!
WOOD has 4 of the next 8 days 42-48 degrees, which is above average! NWS GRR talking about melting snow and flooding possibilities. Bye bye winter!