One of the most helpless feelings is being in an Earthquake and unprepared. A 3.7 magnitude quake struck near Glenrock, Wyoming just North of Rolling Hill around 9:50 on Sunday August 1st.

According to USGS.gov

An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault. The tectonic plates are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges due to friction. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earth's crust and cause the shaking that we feel.

According to the National Earthquake Information Center, globally each year there are about 20,000 earthquakes. Earthquakes happen every day about 55 times all over the world. There are about 16 major earthquakes (magnitude 7 or above) each year, according to records that began around 1900, the most in 1 year being 23 in 2010. Wyoming in total has had 149 earthquakes in the last year. In the last 5 years,  Central Wyoming there have only been 8 earthquakes over a 2.6 magnitude, including the 3.7 earth shaker near Glenrock. Just last month there was a 4.1 in the Worland area and a 3.9 in April in the same area. Earthquakes in the Cowboy State happen, but are not as often as other states. As a reference point, according to EarthquakeTrack.com California has had over 11,000 Earthquakes in the last year.

earthquake map
via earthquake.usgs.gov
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I lived in California for a little over 4 years, but only experienced a few quakes. When you experience that swaying, rumbling motion it always catches you off guard no matter how many you have experienced. One of the hardest parts of earthquakes is that you never know when or how hard they're going to hit, but being prepared is the only real control you have when it comes earthquakes.

There are a few simple steps you can take to get your family prepared in the event of an earthquake. Red Cross.org is a great resource for those tips.

According to the Red Cross, there are 2 major tips you need to teach your family.

Practice DROP, COVER and HOLD ON with all members of your household.

Doorways are no stronger than any other part of a structure so don’t rely on them for protection! During an earthquake, get under a sturdy piece of furniture and hold on.

The larger the quake, the more damage that can occur and living in an area that has quakes there are a couple other things you can make sure is ready for the next one. You should always have an emergency preparedness kit, a household evacuation plan, a family reconnecting plan (in the event you are seperated), the community response plan and you can download the RedCross app on your iphone or android device and stay up today.

Snow Crushes Wheatland Wyoming Airplane Hangers

This row of hangars goes back many years. Some history was lost under a crush of snow.

March 21st, 2021. A record-breaking snowstorm had shut down most of Wyoming and was not yet done. Below is a gallery of photos as cleanup continues.

One of the small airports in Platte County, Wyoming is Phifer Airfield on Antelope Gap Road, east of Wheatland. Platte County has the Wheatland airport, along with one in Torrington and Guernsey. They were all shut down in the storm.

UP NEXT: 10 Facts About Wyoming You Probably Don’t Know

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