I can see it now.   

"Did you feel that?" 

"No, what?"

"I think it was an earthquake." 

I bet you never thought you'd have that conversation in New Hampshire.  Blizzards, yes.  Summer hailstorms, maybe.  The ocassional tornado?  Perhaps.  And we all know about those famous Nor'easters.   

But earthquakes? 

This is no laughing matter to scientists.  It's clear that they are anticipating something larger on the seacoast, that they believe these rumblings that have been going on for months could be the harbingers of, well, stronger rumblings.  Several quakes have hit the Portsmouth area this past summer, but it's unlikely that anyone felt them.  Or if they did feel them, they probably were unaware that an earthquake had caused their canning jars to fall precariously to the ground in their basements, spilling out their messy contents. 

Those scientists (geophysicists, seismologists, and the like) are actually forecasting a larger earthquake in the Portsmouth region at some point in the not-so-distant future.  On November 20, a 2.4 magnitude quake was felt on the south side of the Port City.  But this is just one of many that have been recorded over several months.  Hold on to your jelly jars, folks.  The worst might be yet to come.  Or it might not.  Predicting earthquakes it turns out, is no simple task.