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By Rachelle Oblack, About.com Guide to Weather

Can Weather Predict Earthquakes?

Tuesday April 15, 2008
For thousands of years, people have been associating certain kinds of weather with earthquakes. As early as the 4th century BCE, Aristotle tied the two together when he proposed that earthquakes were caused by winds trapped within the Earth. Before the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, the most deadly earthquake of the 20th century, witnesses claim they saw flashing lights and fireballs flashing across the sky. And even today, on a hot and dry day in Southern California, you can find people looking up to the sky and whispering that it seems like “earthquake weather.” Yet, even with people throughout history associating certain weather patterns with the potential for earthquakes, most geologists insist that there is no correlation between the two. Do you think there is such a thing as “earthquake weather”?

Comments

April 29, 2008 at 5:59 pm
(1) Ted Barry says:

I believe that for the same reasons the scientific community does not believe weather has anything to do with earthquakes, I do as well. The reason is proof, but I do have my theories and they’re very similar to what people in ancient times believed. There seems to be a correlation with cold windy days, then sudden calm and warmth a day or 2 later. This in my experience is when the earthquake(s) hit. As of this posting 4/29/08, we’re currently experiencing this type of earthquake weather. I believe that a very large earthquake is imminent and will occur within the next few months or even days.

January 10, 2009 at 12:50 am
(2) ronald says:

heat causes earthquakes use an underground thermameter and see for yourself. how ever when eve therea a big earthquake the sky is clear as a bell after a quake where was cloude seconds erlier. cats i know feel and hear tiny quakes i caught them on video its on youtube.com subject is called maui quake 2. its very rare we see actual behavior of cats during aproching quakes

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