Can the weather cause an earthquake?

California is no stranger to earthquakes. But what seems to worry people the most is that they’re seemingly unpredictable and scientists around the state are trying to find out if they can be predictable.

Geology Instructor Bob Barminski at Hartnell College said earthquakes are difficult to predict because there are too many variables that are too difficult to measure. Because of that, many are wondering, can the weather cause an earthquake? In one word, no. However, some scientists have the idea that abnormal rainfall could be a trigger.

“Scientists have postulated that if we get a lot of rainfall that the rain will soak into the ground and it’ll tend to lubricate the rocks and then lower the friction and then you can have an earthquake,” said Barminski.

This past winter across the Central Coast was no joke, with rainfall totals in Monterey , Salinas and Santa Cruz well above 100% of normal. But according to Barminski, there’s just not enough evidence in the past to support the idea that the weather can actually cause an earthquake.

“I can’t say that we’re having more earthquakes now after the rainfall than we did before,” added Barminski.

Two earthquakes did occur recently near San Juan Bautista and Gilroy , but small quakes like those pop up all the time so it’s safe to say those were not caused by recent rain.