Series of earthquakes recorded under Mount Rainier

MT. RAINER, Wash. — The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network reports a "little swarm of quakes" shook under the mountain for about 20 minutes.

Don't read into the quakes too much. Earthquakes like that are fairly common, according to John Vidale of the Seismic Network. They don't signify much, he says.

The stronger shaking occurred at 3:41 a.m. when a 1.45-magnitude quake was recorded.

On the same day the Seismic Network reported a tremor episode began in mid-Oregon. Those tremors began not long after a "tremor blob" stalling in Washington.

The tremors, or slow-moving earthquakes, occur along the Cascadia Subduction Zone about once per year. The latest episode in Washington began Dec. 21. Though there's no definite connection between the tremors and recent earthquakes, the Seismic Network reported there was a chance they were related to the 4.8-magnitude quake that shook Victoria.