‘Severe’ Earthquake Strikes North Island, NZ

Magnitude 5.8 quake rattles lower North Island, New Zealand

Centered at 40.58ºS, 176.3ºE, about 15km east of Pongaroa, the quake struck at a depth of 24km, according to NZ’s earthquake monitoring center, geonet.

EQ Details [USGS/EHP]

• Magnitude: 5.4Mw
• Location: 40.651°S, 176.426°E; depth=21.4 km (13.3 mi)
• Date/Time: 2015-10-12 at 08:05:00(UTC)
• Nearby Cities:
  • 32km (20mi) NNE of Castlepoint, New Zealand
  • 73km (45mi) ENE of Masterton
  • 76km (47mi) ESE of Palmerston North
  • 97km (60mi) E of Levin, New Zealand
  • 155km (96mi) ENE of Wellington

The quake was felt within a radius of at least 250km from the epicenter, with thousands of felt report sent to earthquake monitoring center within 30 minutes of the quake occurring, according to various reports.

Search blog content for additional information concerning seismicity of New Zealand.

 

Second Warmest September on Record CONUS

CONUS September temperature 2.04°C above the 20^th century average

The September temperature for the contiguous U.S.  (CONUS) was 20.30°C (68.5°F), or 2.04°C (3.7°F) above the 20^th century average. Only September 1998 was warmer for the Lower 48. Record and near-record warmth spanned most of the country, with nine states in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southwest experiencing record warm, said NCDC. [Data collected since January 1895.]

U.S. climate highlights: September Temperature

• Record warmth in nine states — Connecticut, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah, and Wisconsin.
• Record and near-record warmth observed across most of the country.
• Thirty states had September temperatures much above average.

U.S. climate highlights: Year-to-date (January-September) Temperature

The year-to-date CONUS average temperature was 13.8°C (56.9°F), 1.1°C (1.9°F) above the 20th century average, the eighth warmest on record.

• Overall, 13 states, including Alaska, were much warmer than average.
• California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington were each record warm with temperatures more than 4.0°F above the 20th century average.

Precipitation  Anomalies

Precipitation totals in California, Connecticut, and Oregon were much below average. California had its fourth driest year-to-date receiving about half its average precipitation.

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, State of the Climate: National Overview for September 2015, published online October 2015, retrieved on October 12, 2015 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/national/201509.