QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

Earthquake near Big Spring, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Spring in the 24 hours to 1:27 pm CST (19:27 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 40 km (25 mi) ENE, at 6:28 pm CST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Spring

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) east-northeast of Big Spring, TX, at 6:28 pm CST on 8 November 2026 (00:28 UTC), 7.3 km deep.

USGS: 5 km WSW of Westbrook, Texas

6:28 pm CST, Nov 8, 2026 · · 7.3 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mitchell County 14 kmHoward County 35 kmScurry County 47 kmBorden County 56 kmSterling County 56 kmNolan County 61 kmCoke County 66 kmGlasscock County 68 kmFisher County 77 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
6:28 pm CST on 8 November 2026 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) east-northeast of Big Spring, TX · earthquakes near Big Spring
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
7.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mitchell County, 14 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3 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 67 km (42 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Spring, 40 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.

Likely felt in: Big Spring 40 km, intensity II · Snyder 44 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 4.3 on 2025-10-12 — about 130 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 32.3410, -101.0710. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mitchell County, TX 14 km (9 mi) ESE earthquakes near Mitchell County
Howard County, TX 35 km (22 mi) W earthquakes near Howard County
Scurry County, TX 47 km (29 mi) NNE earthquakes near Scurry County
Borden County, TX 56 km (35 mi) NW earthquakes near Borden County
Sterling County, TX 56 km (35 mi) S earthquakes near Sterling County
Nolan County, TX 61 km (38 mi) E earthquakes near Nolan County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 22 km E of Forsan, Texas
  2. 0.6 11 km W of Forsan, Texas
  3. 1.2 10 km W of Forsan, 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.