| October 1, 2009 | No. 24 |
October is upon us. I have posted the Palmira Arriba Weather Station data for the month of September 2009. We had a light month of rain with only 11.65 inches. The total rain for this year is now 88.9 inches. A year ago entering October 2008 we had experienced 31.34 inches of rain in September and a total rainfall of 162.91 inches. In other words we had about 20 inches more rain in September of 2008 and about twice as much total of rain by October 2008 than we have this year! I am not complaining, but have been wondering what is going on? My conclusion is that this year is more of a normal rain year and last year was an exceptionally wet year.
When I was doing the research for the web site I didn't find much weather data for Boquete at the World Meteorology Organization World Climate archives, but there was some data for the Los Naranjos subdistrict of the District of Boquete that covered a 9 year period. This data indicates that the average rainfall for Los Naranjos was 97.5 inches a year. The range over the years was not given, but one can assume that there was variation and some years with excessive rain.
Based upon all of this, my reasoning is that this 2009 year is probably more in keeping with the averages reported in the 9 year Naranjos data. Last year 2008 was an exceptional wet year that did considerable damage to the coffee plants causing about a 50% reduction in Boquete coffee production. This year with a more normal rainfall should be a much better year for Boquete coffee.
One of the behind the scenes operations of the Boquete Weather web site is keeping the weather station and computer running along with an internet connection around the clock so that the information can be reliably posted to the server which is in Phoenix, Arizona. Keeping the computer running nonstop is a big challenge. We recently rebuilt the computer putting in a new motherboard and hard drives along with other components. I say we because I had very good help. Finding good technical support is a challenge here in Chiriqui. I have been fortunate to find an excellent exceptional person who knows computers inside-out as well as all the networking stuff. He lives in the subdistrict of Palmira, is bilingual, knows what he is doing and his fees are reasonable. I wanted to let you know about him as I believe he is easily the best computer consulting resource in the Boquete area. No job is too big or small for him, and he realistically knows his limits. He is honest. I highly recommend him to you as I know how hard good computer support is to find in this developing country. If you need some help with your computer stuff, give him a call.
Juan Arauz Computer Consulting Services Phone: 6-550-6370 |
October is usually the rainiest month of the year during the rainy season. Today it is raining and we have collected about an inch of rain by mid-afternoon. Don't be surprised if you have to use that umbrella a lot this month! Remember while using it that the rain is what makes rain forest so beautiful. Smile, nothing is forever!
Lloyd Cripe