Early Tuesday, a magnitude 3.2 earthquake hit close to Monroe, Washington, with light shaking felt in major metropolitan Seattle, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
At a depth of 23.9 kilometers, the tremor struck at approximately 5:42 a.m. around the Cathcart area. (RELATED: Northeast Threatened By More Snowfall Events After Being Blasted By Record-Breaking Winter Storm Hernando)
More than 250 reports were received by the USGS from locals regarding the tremor’s strength. The majority of residents reported that the shaking was weak, or that it wasn’t felt at all.
In the last 30 days, the quake is one of three occurring in Washington state that have scaled at magnitude 2.5 or higher. Between Bainbridge Island and Bremerton, an earthquake hit Jan. 25 that registered as a magnitude 2.6. The next day, a tremor struck around Anacortes, coming in at a magnitude 2.7.
PRELIM Earthquake: M3.2, 9.4 km S from Snohomish, WA at 2026/02/24 05:42 PST https://t.co/tl5qduGDdQ
Did You Feel It?: https://t.co/OmulbPLC4k pic.twitter.com/BYOjooVyLX— PNSN (@PNSN1) February 24, 2026
In the state, several earthquakes are connected to the movement of the North American Continental Plate and Juan de Fuca Plate shifting against one another due to the Juan de Fuca Plate sliding under the continent of North America, per the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN). This is known as the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
Earthquakes take place in Washington each day, however, the majority are too small for any shaking to be experienced, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR). In the entire United States, Washington faces the second-highest risk of a potential gargantuan and destructive quake due to its geologic setting. (RELATED: Blizzard ’26: High-Profile Cities In Northeast Get 2 Feet Of Snow During Historic Nor’easter Bomb Cyclone)
Three kinds of earthquakes are normally experienced in the Pacific Northwest:
- Shallow fault earthquakes: Fault ruptures that take place in the higher 18 miles of the crust in the Earth. Normally, these earthquakes have a timeframe of 20-60 seconds, and per DNR, shaking remains in the area it struck.
- Deep earthquakes: Deep faults occur as a result of a collision between two tectonic plates and one of the plates slipping under the other. A large zone can be impacted by these earthquakes, however, they’re not as intense.
- Subduction zone earthquakes: This quake gets triggered due to an oceanic plate’s tension as it slips under a continental plate. When the right amount of stress builds up, the fault becomes ruptured to release a huge energy amount. These kinds of earthquakes are possible in the Cascadia Subduction Zone, and in the past, have ruptured. Per DNR, it is one of the biggest hazards in Washington state.