April full of cold and quakes
Not only was this April one of the coldest, wettest and snowiest across the nation, there was a near-record number of potentially dangerous earthquakes across the country. The most recent was a 4.2-magnitude quake that shook Palm Springs, Calif., on May 1.
Fortunately, most quakes were small magnitude, including the recent swarm of temblors in the Reno, Nev., area in the past several weeks. Residents have been warned, however, to prepare for a major earthquake much like the last big quake in the Reno region, a 6.1-magnitude on April 14, 1914.
The strongest quake lately across North America rocked a large portion of the Midwest on April 18. Huge skyscrapers in Chicago swayed during the 5.2 shaking. Nerves were rattled in cities from Des Moines, Iowa, to Atlanta. There were dozens of aftershocks.
Coincidentally, that particular Midwestern quake occurred exactly 102 years to the day after the powerful 7.8-magnitude (some estimate higher than 8-magnitude) of April 18, 1906. That disastrous quake killed more than 3,000 people and injured 10,000 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Damage totals exceeded $1 billion, mainly from fires, from Santa Rosa south to San Jose. That would be more than $50 billion today.
For decades, scientists and others wondered why approximately 65 percent of the most notable earthquakes nationwide occurred in spring and fall. In other words, are there earthquake seasons, much like hurricane, snow and tornado seasons? It may merely be coincidental, but all of the earthquakes that I remember from living in California, Vermont (I felt a 5.1 shaker while living in that state in April of 2001) and the Inland Northwest occurred either in October in the fall, or April in the spring. Most were in April and they were usually during, or just after, prolonged dry spells.
From May 24 through Nov. 12 in 1981, nearly 50 small earthquakes rumbled through the Spokane area. Scientists are uncertain why swarms of earthquakes plague a particular region over a period of time, but they say the Latah Fault, which follows the Spokane River through the city, was primarily responsible for generating the many tremors here in 1981.
The largest quake during that time was a 3.7-magnitude shaker. Damage was generally limited to cracked chimneys and walls. The biggest quake to strike Eastern Washington was a 5.5 temblor in 1942 that was centered about 35 miles northeast of Spokane.
It looks like we’ve finally turned the corner in terms of our cold, wet weather pattern. April was one of the coldest months in history with an average (mean) temperature of 42 degrees, 4.5 degrees below normal.
Our final snowfall total at the Spokane International Airport is 92.6 inches. The record for the most snow was 93.5 inches set in 1949-‘50. Many stations in North Idaho smashed their all-time snowfall records earlier this year.
Our new weather pattern is expected to bring us a more typical sun-and-showers pattern with occasional thunderstorms between now and the middle of June. By the end of next week, temperatures should warm up into the 70s before cooling a bit the following week. The summer of 2008 will likely be warm and dry with just a few showers or thunderstorms from time to time.