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That was not your imagination. New Jersey and other areas on the East Coast experienced a 4.8 magnitude earthquake on Friday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey.

After Friday's unusual experience, many may wonder what caused the earthquake and how strong it was compared to others in the state or worldwide. Here are what the experts say about the science behind an earthquake.

What causes an earthquake?

An earthquake occurs because of slippage between the earth's tectonic plates, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The edges of the plates, or plate boundaries, are made up of many faults, and most earthquakes occur on these faults. "Since the edges of the plates are rough, they get stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving," according to the USGS. "Finally, when the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick on one of the faults and there is an earthquake."

In New Jersey and elsewhere, earthquakes usually occur "when slowly accumulated strain within the Earth's crust is suddenly released along a fault," according to "Earthquake Risk in New Jersey," a publication of the New Jersey Geological Survey.

More:The April 8 solar eclipse is almost here, North Jersey. Here's your complete viewing guide

"The energy from this movement travels as seismic waves along the ground surface and within the earth," the publication says.

The earthquake waves are caused by the release of energy as the Earth's plates move, said Dr. Matthew Gorring, an associate professor of Earth and Environment Studies at Montclair State University.

The surface where that slippage occurs is called a fault.

While there are many faults in New Jersey, the best known is the Ramapo Fault, which runs northeast-southwest in North Jersey. The majority of New Jersey's quakes occurred around this fault area.

History:Friday's earthquake was the strongest in NJ since 1783. A look back at quake history

The Ramapo Fault system runs from southeastern New York to eastern Pennsylvania, according to the earth Institute at Columbia University. "These faults were active at different times during the evolution of the Appalachians, especially in the Mesozoic when they served as border faults to the Newark Basin and other extensional basins formed by the opening of the Atlantic Ocean approximately 200 million years ago."

In New Jersey, fault lines do not generally break the Earth's surface, but are based several miles below.

Earthquakes east of the Rockies are generally less intense than to the west, but because of geologic differences, eastern earthquakes tend to affect areas 10 times larger than western ones of the same magnitude, according to the New Jersey Geological Survey.

The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter. The epicenter for Friday's earthquake was near Readington in Hunterdon County according to a post on X from Gov. Phil Murphy.

How major is a 4.8 earthquake?

Earthquakes are recorded using seismographs and magnitude measures the strength of an earthquake. A 4.8 earthquake usually calculates minor to no damage to the surrounding areas.

As the magnitude increases by one whole number, the size of the earthquake increases by a factor of 10. So an earthquake that measures a magnitude of 5.0 would result in 10 times more ground shaking than one with a magnitude of 4.0. — and about 32 times as much energy would be released.

According to a New Jersey Office of Emergency Management report, "New Jersey is in an area where the rarer plate interior-related earthquakes occur. As plates continue to move and plate boundaries change geologically over time, weakened boundary regions become part of the interiors of the plates. These zones of weakness within the continents can cause earthquakes in response to stresses that originate at the edges of the plate or in the deeper crust."

Friday's earthquake will go down in the history books in New Jersey as it was the largest in the state in centuries — in fact the largest since 1783.

New Jersey may not be in the path of totality for the solar eclipse on Monday — that band across the continental U.S where the moon totally blocks out the sun — but that hasn't kept local businesses from preparing for a day of celebration on April 8.

Sellers of ice cream, doughnuts, chips and fast food are putting out special products for the solar eclipse, while businesses are putting together watch parties for their staff and the public.

And that’s on top of the dozens of watch parties being held at observatories, libraries and universities across North Jersey.

“There’s going to be events all over the state,” said Anthony Minick, senior lecturer at the International School of Hospitality, Sports and Tourism Management at Fairleigh Dickinson University and a former director of marketing for the state’s tourism board. “There’s certainly opportunities for people who want to eat and dine… prior and after the experience.”

Jim Kirkos, who heads the Meadowlands Chamber, a local business association based in Lyndhurst, called the eclipse “a real tourist attraction” for businesses and viewers alike.

“I’m sure I’d find a bunch of places that are getting creative with some outdoor dining or use it as an attraction, as a business activity,” Kirkos said. “I think that’s the smart thing to do.”

Black cocoa waffle cones with edible stardust

At Beenie’s Ice Cream in Morristown, patrons can buy special black cocoa waffle cones with edible stardust — only on April 8, the day of the eclipse.

Tony Franco, the ice cream shop’s owner, said he's giving away a free pair of solar eclipse glasses with the first 50 purchases. The shop opens at noon Monday and the eclipse is expected to take place between 2.09 p.m. and 4:37 p.m., reaching a maximum dimness at 3:25 p.m.

Story continues below photo gallery

The flavor of this special cone is expected to be “very similar to Oreos,” Franco said. He expects that with the number of businesses, shops and schools in downtown Morristown, business should be booming on Monday.

“We’re always trying to think of how can we make today different from the last day, maybe not on a daily basis, but we definitely like to change things up and make things exciting,” he said.

In Rutherford, local Realtor Jennifer Darby Metzger, owner of ERA Justin Realty, is hosting a watch party between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. The party comes complete with goodie bags that feature space-themed treats like Moon pies, Starburst, Eclipse Gum and Sun Chips. RSVP is available online

On top of the party, the firm has been giving out 500 free eclipse glasses, and there are about 100 left, Metzger said.

“It’s literally just for fun, to get the community together,” said Metzger, who incidentally studied earth and space sciences education in college to be a middle or high school teacher.

Special products and offerings

Krispy Kreme is offering a Total Solar Eclipse doughnut now through Monday.

Meanwhile, you can get SunChips Solar Eclipse Limited-Edition Pineapple Habanero and Black Bean Spicy Gouda chips by going to SunChipsSolarEclipse.com beginning at 2:33 p.m. on Monday — about when the eclipse begins in the U.S. — to get a free bag, while supplies last.

Also on Monday, members of Burger King’s Royal Perks loyalty program can text the word ECLIPSE to 251251 to get a special buy-one-get-one-free Whopper. The offer is redeemable April 8 through 15 using the BK app or on the Burger King website. You can join the Royal Perks program in the app or on BK.com

Also on eclipse day, get any large pizza from Pizza Hut for $12. You can create your own pizza with up to 10 toppings or order any of Pizza Hut's recipe pizzas, as well as Thin ‘N Crispy, Hand Tossed Pizza and Original Pan Pizza.

Applebee’s is offering a “Perfect Eclipse'' margarita through April 14, while the beer brand Blue Moon is offering a $25 special eclipse edition. 7-Eleven is selling eclipse glasses at participating stores, and selling whole pizzas on Monday for just $3 to 7NOW Gold Pass subscribers.

Sonic Drive-In is selling its new limited-edition Blackout Slush Float through May 5, and handing out free eclipse glasses with every purchase of the float while supplies last.

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.

We have all heard the old saying, "April showers bring May flowers." But so far, 2024 has been along the lines of January, February and March showers bring more April showers and eventually we might see the May flowers.

New Jersey has seen an exceptionally rainy start to 2024 with above normal levels of rain, below normal levels of snow, and around half of the year's days seeing some sort of precipitation.

Here is a recap of 2024 so far based off of data from the National Weather Service.

How much rain have we seen in New Jersey?

The first three months of 2024 were quite rainy, with a fair amount of dark and dreary days to ring in the spring season.

According to the National Weather Service, the Mount Holly Weather Forecast Office recorded 17.61 inches of rain between Jan. 1 and March 31. The normal amount of rain for this period is 10.08 inches.

The Newark area saw 15.26 inches of rain, almost 5 inches more than the normal amount of 10.53 inches.

Now, more rain, thunderstorms and a wind advisory have kicked off April, with 2 to 3 inches of rain expected in New Jersey through Thursday.

How much snow has fallen?

On the other hand, the first three months of many years have been met with snowfall. This year, however, the snow fell short.

Mount Holly recorded only 12.4 inches of snow between Jan.1 and March 31 as compared to the normal amount of 20.4 inches.

The Newark area saw 12.2 inches of snow compared to a normal 24.8 inches.

Total days of precipitation

January, February and March account for 91 of 2024's 366 days.

During these first 91 days of the year, Mount Holly recorded 46 days with some type of precipitation. This equals about half, equating to 50.55%.

The Newark area saw over half of its days with precipitation, totaling 50 of 91 days, or 54.95%.

By the end of the first week of April, days 93 through 95 will also be on the books as precipitation days.

April's outlook from NOAA

Each month the NOAA's Climate Prediction Center issues a climate outlook for the month ahead including temperature and precipitation. While these outlooks are not forecasts with specific temperatures or precipitation amounts, they do provide some insight on what the month could look like.

According to the U.S. climate outlook for April 2024, most of New Jersey has between a 40% and 50% chance of leaning above normal precipitation amounts. The average precipitation amount for New Jersey in April is between 3 inches and 4 inches.

In terms of temperature, New Jersey has between a 33% and a 40% chance of leaning above normal. The average temperature for New Jersey in April is between 45 and 55 degrees.

3-minute read

Some school districts in Bergen, Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties will hold board of education elections on April 16, while a handful of municipalities have elections on May 14 for local officials.

All school elections in New Jersey were held in the spring until 2012 when a state law passed that allowed districts to switch elections to November. Some switched to November and then switched back to the spring.

Any district that held its elections in the fall no longer had to seek public approval for their budgets unless they exceeded the state-mandated 2% cap. Only voters whose districts hold elections in April still have a say on school spending plans.

Of New Jersey's almost 600 school districts, only 12 held elections last April.

In Bergen County, Cliffside Park, Fairview and Lodi will have races. This is the first April election Lodi will have since approving the switch from November last year.

Last year, Cliffside Park and Fairview held school board elections. Cliffside Park had a 3.65% voter turnout and Fairview saw 4.17%. Both budgets passed.

In Passaic County, the city of Passaic and Totowa have spring school elections. In Morris County only East Hanover schools do and in Sussex County, only Byram Township will hold spring school elections.

North Jersey municipalities that will hold elections for local officials are Paterson and Ridgefield Park.

School board elections 2024

The following will have April school board elections. (*Denotes incumbents).

Bergen County

Cliffside Park: Four candidates are running for three, three-year terms.

Fairview: Three candidates are running unopposed for the three, three-year terms.

Lodi: Six residents are running for three, three-year terms. The candidates are split into two brackets running together.

Morris County

East Hanover: Two candidates are running for two, three-year terms.

Passaic County

Passaic: Eight candidates are running for three, three-year terms.

Totowa: Three candidates are running for three, three-year terms.

Sussex County

Byram: Two candidates are running for one one-year term.

May municipal elections

The following municipalities will hold elections for local officials.

Bergen County

Ridgefield Park: The Village of Ridgefield Park will have an election on May 14 for five, four-year term commissioner seats. Seven candidates are running, with five candidates running together. Mail-in-ballots were sent out to 709 voters by the Bergen County Clerk's office on March 27.

Passaic County

Paterson: The city has 22 challengers for six city council seats.

Additional reporting by Joe Malinconico, Paterson Press

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Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal

Rockslide in North Bergen damages cars

The Duchess, right, at the foot of the Palisades cliffs at 7601 River Road in North Bergen, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal)Get Photo

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Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal

Rockslide in North Bergen damages cars

Boulevard East right above the Duchess is closed from 74th to 78th streets for a stability assessment due to the rockslide, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal)Get Photo

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Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal

Rockslide in North Bergen damages cars

Netting on the face of the Palisades cliffs behind the Walgreens next door to the The Duchess at 7601 River Road in North Bergen, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal)Get Photo