Earthquakes and Temperatures

We had a decent size earthquake today. Actually, not so big, but unusually long and rolling. The type that tends to suggest a much bigger earthquake perhaps 300 km away. So I went agoogling to see if there were any sites that contained close to real time updates. What I found was the Japan Meteorological Agency's web site in English. And what a little treasure trove it turns out to be. Yes, it did have information on the earthquake (nothing to be alarmed about -- the epicenter was well out to sea and it was not so big, but it was deep, hence the long rolling ground motion), but it also had some choice weather forecast and recent observation data, like the temperature map shown here. Just the thing for filling in what the temperature was during any given run. For the record it looks like it was 3.6 degrees when I ran this morning! That's a new bookmark!

As a side note, the earthquake monitoring and advice system here is nothing short of amazing. If you happen to be watching TV, it is not uncommon to see words start scrolling across the screen announcing there has been a big earthquake somewhere upcountry, and then about 5 to 10 seconds later, sitting there in your living room in Tokyo, the rocking and rolling begins!!