Thursday, September 1, 2011

Third-biggest aftershock rattles Virginia Thursday morning

The third-biggest aftershock since "the big one" a week ago Tuesday woke many Virginians up a little early Thursday, September 1 at 5:09 AM EDT as a magnitude 3.4 earthquake centered slightly northeast of the town of Cuckoo, south of Mineral, occurred. This aftershock has been reviewed by a seismologist, and you can read their full report by clicking here.

USGS Topographic Map, Resolution: 16.0 meters/pixel

Here is the ranking now of our earthquake and the biggest aftershocks since last Tuesday:

This morning's magnitude 3.4 ties the aftershock from August 24th, less than 24 hours after the initial 5.8 earthquake. There have been an official total of 22 aftershocks in the Central Virginia Seismic Zone since "the big one." As of this blog posting, people are reporting into the USGS feeling this morning's aftershock as far north as Baltimore and into southern Virginia from around Lynchburg to Chesapeake.

More aftershocks are likely in the coming weeks, but are not likely to surpass the magnitude of the first earthquake, 5.8.
Stay with CBS 6, we'll keep you ahead of the storm.
--Meteorologist Carrie Rose