| March 6, 2013 | No. 58 |
January and February 2013
I posted the January and February 2013 weather data at the end of the respective months for the Palmira Weather Station. I did not write a report at the end of January because all I had to say was "Dry and Windy." During January we had 0.0 inches of rain for the month and Average Winds of 11.7 mph with a Max Wind reading of 34.3 mph at the Palmira Station. For the month of February we had 0.06 inches of rain (a trace) and Average Winds of 9.3 mph with a Max Wind of 35.9 mph. So it has been Dry and Windy!
Here are the totals for January and February of 2013 as reported from different areas in the District of Boquete:
Rainfall for January and February 2013 |
|||
Area |
Contributor |
Jan |
Feb |
| El Santuario | Terry Zach | 1.40 |
0.95 |
| Los Naranjos | Craig Bennett | 0.28 |
0.25 |
| Jaramillo Arriba | Steve Sarner | 0.38 |
not available |
| Lucero (Cielo Paraiso) | Michael Mullin | 0.0 |
0.0 |
| Jaramillo Abajo | Sela Burkholder | 0.0 |
0.60 |
| Palmira Arriba | Lloyd Cripe | 0.0 |
0.06 |
As you can see from the table, there has been very little precipitation in the Boquete area over the last 2 months. It is dry which is usually the case during the dry season.
The winds kicked up further last week. This was related to a cold front from up north that moved in over the Caribbean and moved south. Cold fronts have cold heavy air and increased pressure. The ITCZ was in our area which is associated with very low pressure. This allowed the cold high pressured air to move in on us with a vengeance and we had lots of wind. The last couple of days the winds have somewhat abated and are now at lesser levels. You can see this on the graph of our data at Wunderground.com
If you are not aware of it, you can see more details of our current and past weather data at the Weather Underground website. Our station is ICHIRIQU4.
Previous experience with the change from the Dry Season to the Rainy Season has been to start seeing some rains in March which gradually pickup further in April. I see these months as transition months into the Rainy Season. Our coffee plants will start to blossom and the grass green again when the rains start. It is really dry right now and we are frankly looking forward to some precipitation.
You can check out the latest ENSO Cycle Report to see that we are still in a neutral condition and it is predicted that this will continue through the spring of 2013. You can get yourself educated as to what all of this means at this NOAA website. If you want to earn a graduate degree on the topic go here.
The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society - select South America from the Region menu) is reporting that we will most probably have normal precipitation (note gray areas) for the months of March 2013 through May of 2013. Here is their current graphic.
As we move into the first rains of the year, we should see the plants perk up, the insect population increase and the birds start their nesting. The birds need the insects to feed themselves and their offspring. We went for a walk along the Chiriqui River over the weekend and saw the Oropendola nests with lots of bird activity. I was able to get some digiscope photos of the Oropendolas. This may mean that the rains are near by and we should get the WD-40 out and lubricate those umbrella mechanisms. I am not certain about all of this, but have a good hunch based on experience. The only thing I am certain of these days is that Congress and the President aren't getting much done. I confidently bet we will get rain and you will need those umbrellas before we see any productive action out of them.
Lloyd Cripe