As the Temperature Plunges – is Illinois Ready for Icequakes?

As it turns frigid across the region, you should be aware that conditions are right for icequakes. It’s not a tectonic event, and you won’t get violently shaken, although it could startle you.

Icequakes occur when water underground expands and freezes. They can occur when the ground temperature drops quickly. Typically icequakes can occur when the air temperature is below zero, as it will be all across the area over the weekend. The word icequake is trending this weekend, but you may have heard these events referred to as "frost quakes" previously. They are one in the same.

When this happens, you may hear a loud boom. Not like the sonic booms that happen locally and always seem to surprise us, but a milder boom or a popping sound. Yes, the ground may shake when that happens, but it tends to be very localized to a neighborhood or an area that typically is more wet than others.

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The chances of an icequake go up in an area if before the rapid drop in temperature there was precipitation. So, if in your area you got some rain or moisture and the ground is still holding the water you may very well get to live through an icequake in the coming days before things warm up a bit.