Mini-Swarm of 3 Earthquakes Confirmed Near Southern Missouri

There are earthquakes that cause concern and there are tremors that are merely interesting. I would classify a mini-swarm of 3 earthquakes confirmed by the USGS in and around southern Missouri as that second option.

As I was doing my daily check of the USGS earthquake site, I noticed several tremors in the New Madrid Seismic Zone

None of these quakes were even large enough to be felt by many, but I noticed that all of them happened yesterday, Tuesday, January 6, 2026. It's a legitimate mini-swarm of New Madrid Fault quakes.

Keep in mind that this sudden uptick of earthquake activity does NOT necessarily mean that it's a leadup to a major seismic event. There is simply no way to know with what is currently known by earth science. That being said, I do recommend staying aware of activity along the New Madrid Seismic Zone. We do live in the part of America that is among the most seismically-active locations on the continent. Only California and possibly Wyoming in the Yellowstone area have a higher frequency of earthquakes than the southern Missouri region does although Texas and Washington state have both been rocking a lot lately. It's simply a good idea to remain earthquake-aware if you live near the New Madrid Fault. No reason to worry, just interesting natural earth science stuff happening.