San Jose

Magnitude 3.8 Earthquake Rattles South Bay

People in cities such as San Jose, Fremont, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Los Gatos and Cupertino reported feeling the earthquake

A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck near the Alum Rock area of San Jose Monday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The temblor, which hit at 9:39 a.m., was centered 5 miles north-northeast of Alum Rock, 6 miles east of Milpitas and 9 miles northeast of downtown San Jose, according to the USGS. It was originally classified as a 3.9 magnitude quake before being downgraded.

People in cities such as San Jose, Fremont, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Los Gatos and Cupertino reported feeling the earthquake. Someone from as far away as Menlo Park also reported feeling shaking.

Reaction on social media was swift. "I'm in Campbell," Nancy Holme wrote on Twitter. "It felt like a car hit [our] house. One big jolt and it was over."

Patty Mitchell in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood took to Twitter to describe the quake as a "very quick but strong jolt."

"The TV here almost fell down," another person tweeted.

"Notable quake in San Jose. Follows hailstorm. If toads start coming coming down, I'm out of here ...," tweeted Sacramento Bee reporter Matt Burrows.

The Santa Clara County sheriff’s department says there was minor shaking but it didn’t receive any calls.

The Geological Survey says a magnitude-3.8 temblor hit three minutes earlier 21 miles south of Bakersfield.

The Kern County sheriff’s office says it didn’t receive calls on the slightly smaller quake.

The epicenters were about 200 miles apart.

The Bay Area witnessed wacky weather Monday, with parts of the East Bay covered in what looked like snow but was actually hail.

Track the latest Bay Area earthquakes using NBC Bay Area's Earthquake Map.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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