Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Morehead, KY
No earthquake was likely felt in Morehead in the 24 hours to 5:14 am CST (11:14 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 159 km (99 mi) NNW, at 2:05 am CDT on 29 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 392 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Morehead
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) northwest of Morehead, KY, at 12:05 am CST on 27 February 2020 (06:05 UTC), 27 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5 km SW of Bremen, Kentucky
50 km (31 mi) SSW of Owensboro, KY · 135 km (84 mi) NNW of Nashville-Davidson, TN
- When
- 12:05 am CST on 27 February 2020 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) northwest of Morehead, KY · earthquakes near Morehead
- Kentucky today
- every earthquake in Kentucky in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 27 km below the surface
- Felt
- 4 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Muhlenberg County, 16 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2367 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Morehead, KY
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Morehead, KY. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 44 km (27 mi) from the epicentre. In Morehead, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Central City, Greenville, Madisonville, Livermore, Nortonville, Earlington.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 250 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 61,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 43,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 250 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 37.3225, -87.2585. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muhlenberg County, KY | 16 km (10 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Muhlenberg County |
| McLean County, KY | 23 km (14 mi) | N | earthquakes near McLean County |
| Hopkins County, KY | 25 km (16 mi) | W | earthquakes near Hopkins County |
| Ohio County, KY | 40 km (25 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Ohio County |
| Webster County, KY | 44 km (27 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Webster County |
| Daviess County, KY | 48 km (30 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Daviess County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
4 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 7 km N of Nebo, Kentucky
- 2.5 7 km W of Calhoun, Kentucky
- 3.0 6 km W of Calhoun, Kentucky
- 2.4 6 km SW of Dixon, Kentucky
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.