Nothing on TV yet. We thought it was a tornado until we looked out the window and saw trees standing straight up.

Good times.

Here comes Carl Madonna....

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/...

I heard something, but was half asleep and thought it was my wife snoring.

Good job finding that link Russ. And like you said, Carl just told us all about it. Go Springfield News!

I found this on the Tribune's site this morning;

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-earthquake...

I was surprised to read that the earthquake could be felt as far north as downtown Chicago. We are about 16 miles west of The Loop. I did wake up briefly this morning around 4:45 a.m. and heard a clicking sound. That must have been it, but I just excused it as something tapping the window. Far less dramatic up here.

Is it common to have earthquakes up there? That is scary as hell! I can't believe the kids didn't wake up - or did they?

I have been through earthquakes before living near Seattle, so when I was awakened by shaking this morning I reached over for Joe. He felt it too, he even said "Maybe it was an earthquake". He got up and went outside to find out if it was storming and to see if any trees were down. He said he saw nothing. We went back to sleep and then when I woke up at 6:00 I saw it on the local news. That was crazy, so far south and it still woke me up out of a dead sleep!

I was awakened by dishes on a little table rattling (the weirdest sound in the middle of the night!) and then I sat straight up in bed. The bed was shaking and I put my hand on the mattress as if I just couldn't really believe it was true. And then it was over. You think of an earthquake and then you think, nah, couldn't be, and then you think it must have been. What else could it be? What else would make everything shake like that? Or maybe I'm just kind of groggy and this didn't really happen and you start to doubt yourself. But then you think it HAD to be an earthquake!! Right away I heard dogs outside start to bark. I haven't felt any aftershocks yet. Very scary!!

Sarah, the New Madrid fault zone runs from Missouri through southern Illinois and into Indiana. It causes many earthquakes a year, most of which are not felt by anyone, but a large earthquake from this fault would be felt in many states. Today's earthquake was the third one I have felt in Springfield in about 40 years. I just heard on television that the New Madrid fault zone is the second most dangerous fault zone in the U.S. (after the one in California).

Yep, this is my second earthquake here in Illinois.

We felt it in Louisville too! Some bricks fell off of some dang building downtown. On the news, I heard a lady in Cincinnati say she felt her mattress shake, but I think she was making it up.

The missus and I were awake already because our dog had been going nuts for the prior 20 minutes or so and I kept looking outside expecting to see a rabbit or possum that he wanted to chase. So, when we felt the bed rattling we just looked at each other and realized that was why we was acting so weird. She had experienced an earthquake in the Philippines so she told me straight away that was what it was.

Smart doggie.

Glad everything is OK out there in the midwest! Sounds like the thing was really widespread.

It woke me up, but in my semi-consciousness I thought it was the wind. HA! That theory was dispelled when this picture I have having over my bed fell on top of me (and by "picture," I mean "poster framed in cheap plastic frame"). It hangs on a nail that I accidentally nailed too far in the wall, so sometimes it falls down when I turn the TV on.

GeorgeyPorge - my boyfriend called and said our basset hound was freaking out too (they live near St. Louis, MO). His theory is that the dog thought it was the aliens finally coming to take her home.

I just talked with ben and he got called in bright and early to cover it for the news....so hopefully he can give all the details on humzoo later!

I experienced some light hail once. Does that count?

Glad the other half of Humzoo is safe, I thought I was going to have to sell your shares for a second.

You can tell the U. S. Geological Survey how you experienced the earthquake: http://pasadena.wr.usgs.gov/shake/cus/STORE/X2008qza6/c...

They also have an interesting map that shows the intensity felt by people in the earthquake area.

Nancy, according to that map Indiana felt nothing, even though the epicenter is right there on the state line!

I felt an earthquake in Nashville, Tenn. in 1969-I know that was before most of you were born. It scared the heck out of me.

I kind of had a similar experience, Casey. I woke right up, but I have a 125 pound dog. I thought he was just scratching himself. Those of you who have a large dog understand what I mean. If he scratches, the floor shakes throughout the house. Since I was half asleep, I didn't even stop to ask myself why the baby monitor was shaking in the other room.

I felt one in Greensboro and a small one in Asheville. The one in Greensboro shook are little house in the hood pretty hard but nothing broke. Scared me to death. I was standing in the living room and just hit the deck. The one In Asheville, I was working downtown and all the glass in the gallery was vibrating. It was eerie.

Pegi, yes, I noticed that too! I think for some reason they have just not recorded the information from that region. But it does look weird! You know the nice folks in Indiana were rudely awakened around 4:47 am this morning.

I like how the map provided by the Tribune (via the link on Bill's comment) shows the epicenter at West Salem. The closest town to it is directly west and is Salem, IL. Kind of makes it look like people in Illinois don't know their East from West.

You can see the effects of the earthquake during a broadcast at the time:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/04/18/quake.on...

Pegi, now they have the information for Indiana filled in!

The link is great. I think it is funny that the CNN weatherman thought it could be trains.

Sarah, I don't think Ethan woke up at all. But you know, he has that newfangled foam mattress. So, I'm sure it helped. Mia may have woken up (is that a word...woken? I'm not well. It sounds wrong) because I heard her 'say' something a little while later. Dave looked in at her, and she was wiggling just a little bit.

Leslie, isn't it amazing how that guy kept his cool through the whole earthquake?!

You'd think they would've made a bigger deal about it that it was happening at that current moment. I mean, he IS the weather guy :)

We just had an enormous aftershock!!! I think I'm shaking as much as my windows did. It happened at 10:17 am. Wow!

I believe we just had another one. This time I got up to stand in the doorway.

Betsy, I don't think they knew for sure what it was at the time.

Dang, I missed our second one. I had just put the kids in the van after taking them to the park (I am feeling about all better today by the way), so we were on the road when the latest one hit. That's no fair, 'cause if we're going to have earthquakes, I demand to notice them.

The Deatons have got to be sooooo jealous.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Quakes/...

We are totally jealous! But its crazy here too!

We just had a big truck go by our house, it kind of vibrated the windows in the dining room. I was so scared! I was freaking out people! Beck and I got in the dog crate and curled up, we were spooning. We lost Emmet for a while too, he was stuck on the other side of the house. The hardwood floors separated at the seams and we were reaching out for him but we couldn't reach him. I cried. We even through him a rope and a pillow but nothing helped. Finally the truck moved on down the street and the floor came back together, we're all better now. I'll keep you guys posted, hopefully that was the last delivery truck today. Schew!

I don't mean to downplay your earthquake but this was serious stuff.

Dude, check out California's recent earthquake map. It's rad:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Maps/US...

I only felt one earthquake when I lived out there, but it wasn't as bad as the one I felt last night.

Dang. Are earthquakes like a "ripple effect?" Should I expect to feel an aftershock here too in a few minutes?

I'd better not miss it!

! I think he kept his cool because he didn't know what it was. I'll bet he feel silly now. I'll bet he gets spoofed on a late show.

What a wild ride today!

Oh my God! You guys better get out of there. They've just released the first images of what the earthquake *really* was!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/45/Ff1kirby....

I just heard somebody on the radio say that aftershocks could go on for days.

Looks like the closest earthquake to Teton Valley was this one on Saturday- Magnitude 1.0 - YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING.

They say Yellowstone could blow anyday. :)

If I remember correctly, an earthquake that is one higher on the Richter scale is ten times more powerful. That means that a 6.0 is ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND times more powerful than a 1.0.

That is so much cooler!

Some of the classrooms felt it and the kids got under desks, some of the rooms had no idea there was an aftershock and they kept going as normal. I just heard a rumble, I did not feel anything.

Soundchick, I am not jealous at all. The earthquakes can stay away. I have enough stress as it is. Hang in there Northerners, and make sure you have good insurance.

Poop in a bucket! I went to bed at 4am, after not sleeping for 40+ hours so my body wasn't going to wake up for an earthquake of any magnitude. Didn't wake up till 11, so I missed the aftershock. Dang! I've never felt an earthquake. I'm going to sit on the ground the rest of the day.

Sorry you missed it, Sally. Glad it wasn't a magnitude 8!

Dang Sally, that totally sucks. It basically feels like someone put your whole house onto a mattress and is pushing it from side to side quickly. Or it's what it feels like when you drive down Illinois' beautiful interstate system. Either way.

Dave, I have been pondering all day what it might have been like during the earthquake while driving and if you were in the Van at the time... does that mean you really couldn't feel it while driving?

We didn't feel a thing, but it's possible that it hit right before we got in the van, when we were at the park. Either way, I completely was unaware that the earth was splitting into two large fireballs and that the human race was moments away from complete and total devastation.

I think Dave was actually on the swings at the park when the second one hit. Cuz when I called him 4 minutes later, he had just gotten in the van. But I will say that it was definitely less noticeable to me when I was standing than when I was lying in the bed. The bed totally amplified it all.

We do have a large fire pit in the backyard now.

Yeah, I didn't feel the aftershock either, and I was in the car. I was, however, near Peoria, and people on the ground in Peoria said they didn't feel the aftershock, so it's possible that it wasn't quite as widespread as the initial earthquake. Betsy, did you ever feel the aftershock in your area??

People downtown said they felt the aftershock. I didn't feel it though :(

Supposedly the aftershock itself was a 4.6

Pretty crazy.

I felt both pretty well.

Lynn and I were awake this morning. We felt a slight move and then heard some glasses in the cabinet make a little noise. At our house, it wasn't bad at all. I think the 10:15 aftershock was something. In my office it was more of a jolt with noise as well as the classroom above me. Things moved. In other parts of the school they didn't even notice it. In one class they were sitting quietly to see what 20 seconds felt like for an earthquake when the aftershock hit. What a concidence! In the first grade class they were studying about earthquakes at 10:15. The teacher warned me that next week they are studying natural disasters. Note to self, check her lesson plans each week!

It was actually felt as far north as Milwaukee... my bed vibrated for a few seconds but I didn't think anything of it until I saw the news.

Betsy, I'm watching the Brewers/Reds game right now and they're talking about how many people in Cinci felt it.

Denny is too young to remember (his mom was still in HS!) but we had an earthquake in Mooresville. I remember it well. My mom and sister and I were sitting around the living room. I looked up and saw the floor lamp "shimmy". I looked again and as I was trying to get a sense of it, I felt the floor ripple. It was the weirdest feeling. Like a stone turning liquid under you. I remember we all looked up at that point and looked at each other puzzled. It was too light to cause any damage or obvious shaking but it was a queasy experience..

According to most people I talked to they said the first jolt lasted close to a minute....if not more.

The after shock didn't seem to last very long...maybe 10 seconds. According to the experts...we could feel another after shock in the next day or two....I think they said that is when Satan could break free from his lava tomb and spew destruction on earth....oh...was that experts or a homeless guy in New York a few years ago?

Isn't it funny how the nicest people meet the nicest people and the rudest people meet the rudest people?

Mike wants to know if you trashed your office, the earthquake knocked stuff around, it's a crime scene, or were you just in a hurry to go home on Friday? He thought maybe you needed some yellow tape.

Oh boy, that doesn't sound good. I was out all day Thursday and Friday with my sickness, so I have no idea what my office looked like by the end of the day Friday. Usually when I miss a day, lots of random stuff tends to show up all by itself. Two days out, and it's sure to be a disaster. But it's possible that the earthquake moved some things around -- we'll see.

Dave, I will admit that usually I'd be the first suspect when your stuff gets messed with or you get something strange sent to you in inner-office envelopes, but there has been a strange recurring coincidence that I am buried in real work or just out of the office when you are out sick or your office is available to mess with. I'm just saying I totally didn't have anything to do with it this time. I like to take credit where credit is due. If someone has wrapped all of your office supplies in bubble-wrap though, Kudos!

He doth protest too much.

Was this earth quake caused the fact that Hillary and obama are both from chicago? They would try to shake anything for a vote, watch NC next week, the triumvirate(hillary,bill, and obama0 have been covering NC like a rug. Also, Peanut Carter is hawking his book here. None of them have to worry about me going to see because I will vote for the people who ride the elephant.

I vote for the party that put Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagfan in the White House,plus other great leaders.

Dude, I think you need your own site or something. May I direct you to: http://www.humzoo.com/signup/

Or may I direct you to:

http://www.humzoo.com/signup/?pro