| October 2, 2016 | No.91 |
August & September 2016
The Palmira Station measured 11.63 inches of rain in August and 9.47 inches in September. Our total for the year 2016 at the end of September is 76.44 inches.
Thanks again to all those who contribute their monthly rain data. Here are the totals for August and September of 2016 from various District of Boquete areas.
Rainfall for August & September 2016 |
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Area |
Contributors |
August |
September |
Total 2016 |
El Santuario |
Terry Zach |
8.08 |
4.58 |
53.41 |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Sela Burkholder |
16.25 |
10.01 |
87.99 |
Jaramillo Arriba |
Steve Sarner |
21.50 |
17.82 |
109.68 |
Brisas Boquetenas |
Austin Perry |
21.90 |
25.90 |
141.05 |
Los Molinos |
Fred Donelson |
24.75 |
28.23 |
123.76 |
Los Naranjos |
Craig Bennett |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
Lucero (Cielo Paraiso) |
Michael Mullin |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
Palmira Abajo |
Clyde Page |
9.80 |
14.31 |
n/a |
Palmira Abajo |
Betty Gray |
12.69 |
13.28 |
71.29 |
Palmira Arriba |
Lloyd Cripe |
11.63 |
9.47 |
76.44 |
n/a = not currently available but will be posted when available |
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The highest rainfall was at Los Molinos. The lowest was again at El Santuario as measured by Terry Zach. Again, we see considerable variance in rainfall within the District of Boquete.
Unfortunately Mark Huehnergard contacted me in August and reported significant problems with his weather station which can't be repaired so he is taking the station down and can't provide any further data from Valle Escondido. If he replaces the station, he will again contribute.
Is the rain for the month of Septembery more or less than normal? Based upon the data I have collected from 2007 to the present at the Palmira Station our 9.7 inches in September is lower than normal compared with an average of 23 inches in the Palmira area as noted on the graph of average monthly rainfall for our station. Our total for the year to this date is better than last year at this time.
The latest ENSO Cycle Report is still saying that "...neutral conditions are slightly favored (between 55-60%) during the upcoming Northern Hemisphere fall and winter 2016-17..."
The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) (select South America from the Region menu) is reporting the following precipitation predictions for October-November-December of 2016. Note that they are not making any predictions specific to Panama but areas around Panama to the east are predicted to have above somewhat above normal average precipitation.
ETESA's, hydrology and meteorology section is predicting a strong probability that the Chiriqui area will have generally normal precipitation during the month of October 2016. You can read their report and check out the details for May in the documents section at this link.
As I write this, Hurricane Matthew in the Caribbean is slowly moving north. This is a powerful system that will gradually pass over Haiti and Cuba and then on to the Bahamas and eventually the eastern part of the United States. Here is the current infra-red satellite image of the storm:
I am glad it isn't headed our way! You can read more about Hurricane Matthew at Dr. Jeff Masters blog and see it's predicted path at this link.
Here is the current status and predicted path for the next couple of days:
We are glad to be back in Paradise even if October is typically the rainiest month of our rainy season. The umbrellas and boots are getting a workout. We didn't need the umbrellas in Seattle, but we could have used the boots given all the political stuff we were wading in up there. Fortunately in a little over a month we will only have to deal with the rain and the transition into the dry season here. Who knows what they will be dealing with up there!
Lloyd Cripe