| September 3, 2011 | No. 44 |
August 2011
I posted the August 2011 weather data for the Palmira Weather Station. We had a total of 23.76 inches of rain in August at the Palmira Station. Terry Zach in El Santuario reports 16.05 inches of rain with 2.3 inches on August 28. Sela Burkholder in Jaramillo Abajo reports 31.02 inches for the month of August with 2.89 inches on August 28. Craig Bennett reports 17.01 inches in Los Naranjos for the month. Here is the list from most to least:
Rainfall for August 2011 |
||
Area |
Reporter |
Inches |
| Jaramillo Abajo | Sela Burkholder | 31.05 |
| Palmira Arriba | Lloyd Cripe | 23.76 |
| Los Naranjos | Craig Bennett | 17.01 |
| El Santuario | Terry Zach | 16.05 |
At the Palmira Station we now have a total of 103.98 inches of rain for this year. If you check the Annual Climate Data tables at the website, you can see that the total amount of rain for August varies from year to year. This year is within the normal range of years past.
We had 8 days in August 2011 with no rain and some type of precipitation on 23 of the month's days. A lot of the mornings were sunny. I thought the weather this month was overall rather pleasant.
Again I want to say thanks to Craig, Sela and Terry for daily collecting and measuring the rain in their areas. I also want to invite others to join in this effort by getting the same rain gauge and collecting the data.
I received several emails asking about buying and installing a rain gauge. A manual rain gauge is easy to obtain, install and maintain. The best quality inexpensive rain gauge is the Stratus Professional Rain and Snow Gauge that is made to NWS standards. It costs about $35.00. It needs to be installed on about a 5 foot pole in an open area. It should not be near buildings or trees which will interfere with an accurate sampling. The best location is an open field or large area. Here are photos of how I installed mine.
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It requires consistency and diligence to go out each morning about the same time and record the amount of rain onto a log. However, it soon becomes part of the daily routine and sort of a meditation. As I said last month, it doesn't cost much money or time and contributes to our understanding of the microclimates here in the District of Boquete. Here is a link to a good training video on how to do all of this produced by CoCoRaHS (Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network). Smile while you see the snow part!
Some have asked about automated rain gauges. I am looking into this matter. The basic problem is finding an inexpensive automated rain gauge that is accurate and reliable. This may not be possible. I will let you know what I find out.
The ENSO is now in a neutral condition. They are predicting neutral conditions throughout the fall season and continuing into early 2012, but some models are predicting the onset of La Niña during the fall. Here is the link to the latest La Niña report. If interested, you can monitor this and get weekly updates at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center at this link.
The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) is reporting generally normal precipitation for the Panama area for September through November of 2011. Here is the graphic that they issued in August 2011. (Note the white in our area which predicts rather normal climate):
Of course, the big weather news for the Month of August was Hurricane Irene that found its way up the east coast. It fortunately lost some of its intensity before it struck the heavily populated areas. However it dumped a lot of rain and flooding causing lots of damage. They are still feeling the effects of all of this and it will take a long time to recover. The current estimated damages are between 3 and 6 billion dollars. You can read more about all of this at Dr. Jeff Masters Weather Underground WunderBlog. Currently Tropical Storm Lee is heading into New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana.
Aren't you glad and grateful that we are only coping with our rainy season? Here an umbrella will do the job of protecting you. Keep it handy, bow and smile at it every-now-and-then. We are truly fortunate to live in Paradise. Regardless, don't forget to keep your stuff locked!
Lloyd Cripe