Friday, October 06, 2017
Was that a quake? Yes, but not this one
A while ago my afternoon nap was invaded by a THUMP. The dream-scripter rewrote it as somebody bumping against a couch, so as usual it was hard to interpret.
After waking up I 'replayed' the sound. For once it didn't seem like a doorknock; it could have been either a tree falling or one of those THUMP-style earthquakes that were common in 2001.
Tree falling is possible because there's some wind ... but it's sort of 20G35, not really enough to knock things down, and a quick look outside showed no obvious problems.
Well, what about earthquake? Bingo.
Well, not really Bingo. That was yesterday. Close to Spokane, the same range of magnitude as the 2001 thumpers. If a similar quake happened yesterday, it could have indicated the start of a similar swarm. But today's thump wouldn't show on PNSN yet. Their reports aren't immediate.
I'm dubious because I'm not seeing any reports in SpokaneNews. A quake should have been heard by most of the town if it was heard at all.
In more detail, yesterday's quake is listed as 'probable explosion', which should have generated some news. 2.5 should have been audible, but I didn't hear it, and no reports in SpokaneNews yesterday either.
= = = = =
Next day: Likely candidate is neighbor's trash bin. Wind wasn't nearly strong enough to knock over normal trash bins, but the neighbor had stuffed the top end of a yardwaste bin with long leafy branches. All sail, no keel. Hardly a seismic event except that the bin was 10 feet from my bedroom window. That'll do until something better comes along.
¶ 3:00 PM 
Well, not really Bingo. That was yesterday. Close to Spokane, the same range of magnitude as the 2001 thumpers. If a similar quake happened yesterday, it could have indicated the start of a similar swarm. But today's thump wouldn't show on PNSN yet. Their reports aren't immediate.
I'm dubious because I'm not seeing any reports in SpokaneNews. A quake should have been heard by most of the town if it was heard at all.
In more detail, yesterday's quake is listed as 'probable explosion', which should have generated some news. 2.5 should have been audible, but I didn't hear it, and no reports in SpokaneNews yesterday either.
= = = = =
Next day: Likely candidate is neighbor's trash bin. Wind wasn't nearly strong enough to knock over normal trash bins, but the neighbor had stuffed the top end of a yardwaste bin with long leafy branches. All sail, no keel. Hardly a seismic event except that the bin was 10 feet from my bedroom window. That'll do until something better comes along.
¶ 3:00 PM
