The myth of earthquake weather

The myth of so-called earthquake weather continues to percolate, another way humans try to create order out of chaos. We unpack some of these myths

Many major earthquakes are etched in our memories, from real ones to overcooked ones from '90s disaster flicks. There's the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake during the World Series in the Bay Area and the Northridge quake of 1994 outside of Los Angeles.

More recently, in July 2019, 6.4 and 7.1 tremors rocked the high desert town of Ridgecrest, California, and were felt throughout the Southwest. These earthquakes set off a familiar chorus of people connecting hot summer weather to earthquakes.

After all, the October 1989 quake happened during an unusually warm spell of 80-degree temperatures in the Bay Area as the Oakland A's and San Francisco Giants squared off in Candlestick Park. And it was a sweaty 91 in Pasadena, near the site of last week's 4.4 magnitude earthquake on Aug. 12.

However, here's a monkey wrench: The Jan. 17, 1994, Northridge earthquake happened in the heart of L.A.'s rainy season, with a high of 69 degrees that day at LAX.

The myth of so-called earthquake weather continues to percolate, another way humans try to create order out of chaos. So, what are some of the top earthquake weather myths?

The science behind earthquakes

First, we need to understand how earthquakes happen. Earthquakes begin many miles below the Earth's surface, which means that they cannot be affected or influenced by surface weather -- the basic weather conditions that can be found at the Earth's surface and at low altitudes, including rain, tornadoes, and the like.

Tectonic plates, pieces of the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle, are constantly on the move, but there's a problem: they also get stuck at their edges until eventually an earthquake releases energy in waves that travel through the Earth's crust, according to the United States Geological Survey. This is what causes the shaking that we all experience.

Aristotle might have started the myth of earthquake weather, which then spread like a game of telephone. In the 4th century B.C., Aristotle argued that earthquakes were caused by winds stuck in underground caves. Pliny the Elder, the author of the first known encyclopedia, took it a step further and declared that winds also happened on the surface, and these set off earthquakes.

Millennia later, we have the myth that earthquakes occur during windy weather.

Humans gained a fuller knowledge of quakes after the devastating 1755 Lisbon earthquake, an 8.5 which rocked the city and also triggered a tsunami. Tens of thousands died. There were some silver linings, however, including a better understanding of seismology and the critical concept that earthquakes originate within the Earth and are waves of movement. So even though there is the temptation to correlate that with surface weather, earthquakes occur much deeper than where ordinary weather can influence them.

Some weather phenomena mimic true earthquakes below the surface. Frost quakes, formally known as cryoseism, occur when the sudden freezing of water in the ground leads to loud booming or popping sounds that result in small earthquakelike tremors. The vibrations and ground cracking can cause people to believe they've experienced an earthquake.

Frost quakes happened in January 2024 in the Chicago area on the heels of subzero temperatures. Other regions known for their cold, including Canada and Scandinavia, have also dealt with frost quakes. In Oulu, Finland, a frost quake in 2016 damaged building foundations and led to violent tremors.

However, these were not true earthquakes. Although it might be tempting to believe, there is no such thing as earthquake weather.

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