Pacific NW-News Service Since 1992: Pacific NW News Since 1992

RENO, Nev. – A swarm of earthquakes in a sparsely populated area of far northwest Nevada that began on July 12, 2014, has increased in intensity over the past several days. This activity is located about 40 miles southeast of Lakeview, Ore., and 40 miles northeast of Cedarville, Calif. During the past three months the Nevada Seismological Laboratory, in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey and seismic networks in Washington and Oregon, has recorded 42 earthquakes larger than Magnitude 3, and about 550 earthquakes larger than Magnitude 2. Three Magnitude 4+ events have occurred since Oct. 30, with the largest event of the sequence, Magnitude 4.6, at 11:23 p.m., Nov. 4, 2014 (PST).

This activity resembles the 1968 Adel, Ore., swarm, which also lasted several months and included three events of approximately Magnitude 5; the Adel swarm caused moderate damage. Another analog is the 2008 “Mogul-Somersett” swarm in west Reno. This swarm also consisted of an increasingly vigorous series of earthquakes over a two-month period, leading to a Magnitude 5 event. The Mogul sequence also caused moderate local damage.

Following any sequence of earthquakes similar to what is occurring in northwest Nevada, there is a small increase in the probability of a larger event. Whether a larger event will occur in the northwest Nevada swarm cannot be predicted or forecast. However, large earthquakes can happen anywhere in Nevada, and we encourage citizens to take steps to prepare for the potential for strong ground shaking.

- See more at: http://newsroom.unr.edu/2014/11/05/ongoing-earthquake-swarm-in-northwestern-nevada/#sthash.zm8iEY74.dpuf

Janice Smith

It's amazing what a lot of rain can do.
The low pressure system that swept through California last weekend brought much needed moisture to the state. As a result, drought conditions have improved in several northern counties, according to the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor.
"Weekly rainfall totals for northern California top out at 2.3 inches," Matthew Rosencrans of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wrote in this week's drought report.
There was improvement in stream flows while plants and grasses turned green in some areas of Northern California. Unfortunately, the storms didn't bring enough moisture to recharge the drier, deeper soil.

Cumberland Falls

Charlene Helton Youdell

Recent rain throughout California made only a slight dent on a drought that has chugged along relentlessly for more than three years, according to federal scientists.
And dry conditions are expected to return for the next two weeks.
Rainfall drenched large portions of Northern California, improving stream flows, raising some river levels and spurring the growth of small plants and grasses, according to Matthew Rosencrans, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center.
The drought eased across the board throughout California, but it was not a dramatic change, according to a U.S. Drought Monitor map.