QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Big Spring, TX

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Big Spring in the last 24 hours. M 2.5, 41 km (26 mi) ESE of Big Spring, at 5:05 pm CST on 11 November 2026 (23:05 UTC); the estimated shaking in Big Spring was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Big Spring

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 28 km (18 mi) northwest of Big Spring, TX, at 5:49 am CST on 26 February 2026 (11:49 UTC), 8.3 km deep.

USGS: 13 km S of Ackerly, Texas

56 km (35 mi) NE of Midland, TX

5:49 am CST, Feb 26, 2026 · · 8.3 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Martin County 25 kmHoward County 29 kmDawson County 43 kmBorden County 46 kmGlasscock County 62 kmMidland County 71 kmMitchell County 76 kmScurry County 85 kmLynn County 87 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
5:49 am CST on 26 February 2026 ()
Where
28 km (18 mi) northwest of Big Spring, TX · earthquakes near Big Spring
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
8.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Martin County, 25 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 181 days ago

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 61 km (38 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Spring, 28 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.

Likely felt in: Big Spring 28 km, intensity III · Stanton 31 km, intensity II · Lamesa 43 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.2 on 2022-12-16 — about 4,000 times the energy of this one.

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 32.4030, -101.7210. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Martin County, TX 25 km (15 mi) WSW earthquakes near Martin County
Howard County, TX 29 km (18 mi) ESE earthquakes near Howard County
Dawson County, TX 43 km (27 mi) NNW earthquakes near Dawson County
Borden County, TX 46 km (28 mi) NE earthquakes near Borden County
Glasscock County, TX 62 km (39 mi) SSE earthquakes near Glasscock County
Midland County, TX 71 km (44 mi) SSW earthquakes near Midland County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

46 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.7 4 km N of Stanton, Texas
  2. 1.8 9 km E of Coahoma, Texas
  3. 1.7 31 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
  4. 2.4 19 km NW of Stanton, Texas
  5. 1.5 37 km ENE of McKinney Acres, Texas
  6. 2.1 6 km NNE of Midland, Texas
  7. 2.7 6 km NNE of Midland, Texas
  8. 1.6 12 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  9. 1.5 12 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  10. 1.6 35 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
  11. 1.7 13 km W of Stanton, Texas
  12. 1.6 20 km NNW of Stanton, Texas
  13. 1.5 12 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  14. 2.1 13 km W of Stanton, Texas
  15. 1.7 18 km SSE of Ackerly, Texas

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.