Whatever the case may be, it’s best for those affected by the polar vortex to heed officials’ warning and stay indoors until the bitter cold subside. “You’d have to have a seismologer right next to where it occurs,” Bellini adds.īen Duebelbeiss, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, tells Fabbre that the cracks heard this week could be attributed to factors other than frost quakes, like falling branches or houses creaking in strong gusts of wind. Geological Survey, tells Alicia Fabbre of the Naperville Sun. But it will be difficult to confirm if the quakes actually happened the booms they create may sound powerful, but frost quakes are actually “very small compared to even a small earthquake,” John Bellini, a geophysicist with the U.S. In mid-January, reports of frost quakes also popped up in Indiana and Connecticut when a deep freeze settled in after Winter Storm Harper, reports Brian Donegan for The Weather Channel.Ĭonditions may have been right for frost quakes to rattle Chicago according to Melissa Griffin of ABC News, parts of the Midwest were covered with melting snow before being walloped by temperatures that plummeted well below zero. With a predicted frequency of warm, wet winter air masses, the ground will remain damp and snow-free more often, so frost quakes will accompany extreme cold snaps when they do occur. Residents awakened by nocturnal disturbances the past two nights likely are experiencing a seismic phenomenon known as frost quakes or ice quakes. See if there was a quake in or near Ontario just now Find how many recent quakes there were, report a quake. I seemed to have slept right through it and missed it, but it's still interesting to know that it might have happened. According to Live Science’s Rafi Letzter, frost quakes are relatively rare events that require three conditions to occur: rain or melting snow that saturates the ground, a sudden fall in temperature that causes the earth to freeze, and ground that is free of snow, which can insulate the soil from rapid temperature drops.Īt least one recent study suggests that these subzero shake-ups could become more common, possibly due to factors related to climate change-in Canada, at least, Letzter writes. Latest quakes in or near Ontario now or today. Apparently, here in Indianapolis we may have experienced a cryoseism, also known as an ice quake, in the early morning hours of Thursday, February 10th. This rapid expansion pushes against soil and rock, causing them to crack, which in turn creates loud booms. I had everyone’s jackets on the table in case we had to run out of here.”įrost quakes, also known as “cryoseisms,” happen when underground water freezes and expands (as frozen water is wont to do) quickly. “I was scared and thought it was the furnace,” one Facebook user wrote. The outlet says that after posting about the possible quakes on social media, it received “tons” of responses from people who had heard strange booming noises during the night. The deep freeze may have also been responsible for the mysterious booms and bangs that gave some Chicago residents a fright in the early hours of Wednesday morning-a phenomenon known as “frost quakes,” according to CNN affiliate WGN9. The drastic temperature changes across the region will most likely affect the concrete foundations, decks and porches of your home and in most cases won’t cause any damage - they’ll just be loud and a bit startling.įrost quakes or ice quakes are heard most often at night because the air is the coldest and the ambient noise during the day tends to drown them out.A biting polar vortex has settled over the Midwest, causing frigid temperatures that have snapped power lines, grounded thousands of flights and led to the deaths of at least eight people. The water in the ground then expands as it freezes and pressure builds up until eventually a section of frozen earth near the surface cracks – causing a loud “boom” or even a jolting “quake.” Our warm-weathered rain earlier this week which was followed by sub-zero temperatures in less than 24 hours would be the most likely culprit. The roller coaster temperatures that took central Indiana from a frozen tundra to a balmy spring and back below freezing again are likely to blame for the quakes which happen when the ground becomes saturated with water and then quickly freezes. "Like someone dropped bricks up there," she posted on our Facebook page. Julie Justus described the sound as "giant booms on the roof" of her home in Irvington. Hoosiers from literally every part of the state have reported hearing the "booms" and "quakes" over the last couple of days. INDIANAPOLIS - Dispatchers across central Indiana have been fielding frantic calls from residents who believe they’re hearing gunshots, exploding gas lines – or even secret underground activity – but it turns out what they’re most likely hearing is actually a loud winter phenomenon called “frost quakes.”
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