Alabama earthquake
© USGSThe star marks the epicenter of the earthquake detected Friday morning near Scottsboro.
What's believed to be the strongest earthquake to be detected in north Alabama this year occurred Friday morning near Scottsboro.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was detected about 10:38 a.m.

While that's a minor earthquake likely not to be noticed, it's the strongest one of the year so far. The previous strongest quake was magnitude 2.7 near Decatur.

It's also the fourth quake this year detected in northeast Alabama. Two were near Fort Payne in DeKalb County and another near Scottsboro in Jackson County.

It's at least the eighth earthquake in 2017 detected in the northern half of the state.

Friday's quake was detected nine miles northeast of Scottsboro and 24 miles north northwest of Fort Payne, according to the USGS. It occurred more than 5.6 miles below the earth's surface, the USGS said.