Tuesday’s Idaho Earthquake Strongest In Nearly 40 Years

The powerful earthquake that shook Idaho and surrounding states early Tuesday evening registered as the largest in the state in 37 years. 

I'm assuming most of you felt the March 31 earthquake that hit the Gem State just minutes before 6:00 p.m., Tuesday evening. I was on-air in the studio, doing my usual 3-7p shift on "The Snake." I was seated on a chair that had wheels, which began slightly moving as I was mid-sentence.

The magnitude was recorded as 6.5 on the Richter Scale, and hit at exactly 5:53 p.m., with an epicenter roughly 30 miles west of Challis. Challis is located about 190 miles north of Twin Falls.

I've seen many people on social media describe the feeling as similar to being drunk, a dizzying sort of reaction. I only felt the quake for about 10 to 15 seconds. I immediately stood up, finished my sentence, and went to a commercial break. As I walked toward the exit of the studio, I felt what I'd describe as a smooth, rolling sensation under my feet; I noticed a bird feeder out the hallway window shaking violently.

Having grown up in California, earthquakes aren't foreign to me. The San Andreas Fault runs in a northwesterly direction, almost right through the city I was born in, so I have many memories of quakes growing up. The one that hit Idaho on Tuesday was the first I've felt since moving here in 2016.

Prior to Tuesday's quake, which was also reportedly felt in areas of Nevada, Montana and Utah, the largest ever recorded in Idaho happened back in October of 1983. The Borah Peak quake, on October 28, claimed two lives, and resulted in millions of dollars in property damage. The quake measured 6.9.