| March 5, 2019 | No.119 |
February 2019
(Back Issues Here)
February 2019 was another dry month here at the Palmira Station. The reports from around the District of Boquete for February 2019 indicate some very light precipitation but basically another dry month:
Rainfall for
February 2019 |
|||
Area |
Contributors |
February |
Total 2019 |
El Santuario |
Terry Zach |
0.62 | 0.73 |
Jaramillo Arriba |
Steve Sarner |
0.79 | 1.03 |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Don Berkowitz |
0.12 | 0.14 |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Bobi McGann |
0.17 | 0.21 |
El Salto Arriba |
Rodrigo Marciacq |
0.00 | 0.10 |
Brisas Boquetenas |
Austin Perry |
0.00 | 0.00 |
| Brisas Boquetenas | Richard Sturtz | 0.00 | 0.01 |
Los Molinos |
Sela Burkholder |
0.24 | 0.26 |
| Los Molinos | Fred Donelson | 0.18 | 0.18 |
Santa Lucia |
Paula Litt |
0.00 | 0.08 |
Lucero (Cielo Paraiso) |
Michael Mullin |
0.45 | 1.99 |
Cerro Verde |
Charlotte Lintz |
0.37 | 1.03 |
Boquete Country Club |
Paul Arrandale |
0.03 | 0.07 |
Palmira Abajo |
Betty Gray |
0.01 | 0.02 |
Palmira Arriba |
Lloyd Cripe |
0.10 |
0.16 |
n/a = not currently available but will be posted when available |
|||
Thanks again to all the volunteer rainfall data collectors. We really appreciate it and it is helping us to better understand micro rain climates in the Boquete District.
The monthly rainfall at our Palmira Arriba station was very little in February with only 0.10 inches. It continues to be the "Dry Season" with plenty of wind and no rain.
Compared to the data for the last 11 years at our station, this is a low rainfall month but not so unusual for February. There have been some years with more and some years with less rain in February than we had this month. Check out the data the over the past 11 years. You can also look at the tables in the Climate Section to see what rains we have had in February over the years.
I asked myself, "Whether or not the last 3 months (the main part of the Dry Season) have been drier than normal?" It seems to me that things have been very dry this Dry Season but what does the data say? The chart below is a comparison of total rain fall during the months of December, January and February over the last 12 years.
Note that this year (December, January and February) total rainfall is the lowest we have ever had with only 0.45 inches in 3 months. There has been a lot of variation over the years but not as little rain as this Dry Season. It is really dry. Notice also that the trend line is downward.
The Dry Season is not over but we usually start getting some rains in March and then more in April until we evolve into the Rainy Season in May. Hopefully we will start getting some rain to feed the crops and replenish our water sources. We need some rain to get the coffee plant blossoms to pop out so the bees can get busy with pollinating next years crop.
The latest ENSO Cycle Report is now saying that "El Niño conditions are present. Equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are above average across most of the Pacific Ocean. The pattern of anomalous convection and winds are consistent with El Niño. Weak El Niño conditions are expected to continue through the Northern Hemisphere spring 2019 (~55% chance)."
By the way, dry weather in this area of the world is often associated with El Niño conditions. Read about it here.
To learn more about El Niño, check out this link to a web site that will help you to better understand the phenomenon and its effects on our climate and weather.
The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) (select South America from the Region menu) is reporting the following precipitation predictions for March-April-May of 2019. Note no prediction of the area precipitation for most of Panama but below normal in the region (mostly yellow to brown).
.gif)
ETESA's, hydrology and meteorology section is predicting that Chiriqui will have normal to below normal levels of precipitation in March of 2019 depending upon the specific area. You can read their report and check out the details in the "documents" section at this link.
March will probably continue to be dry and windy with some rains developing. March tends to average about 2 inches of rain here in Palmira. Winds will continue. Do you remember what I said in 2008 about Boquete winds? Take a look here if you don't remember.
Don't get discouraged with the dry and wind. Keep your fingers crossed that your area doesn't end up lawn chairs blown away and with dry water pipes. All of this will eventually change and you probably be complaining again about wet weather. You will need those dry if not cracked umbrellas again. You may have to get out the WD40 and loosen them up a bit.
Lloyd Cripe