| March 08, 2016 | No.85 |
February 2016
March is commonly windy and dry and it is not disappointing us. The Palmira Station had a total of 0.47 inches of rain in February. Our total for the year 2016 is now 0.93 inches.
Thanks again to all those who contribute their monthly rain data. Here are the totals for February 2016 from various District of Boquete areas.
Rainfall for February 2016 |
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Area |
Contributors |
February |
Total 2016 |
El Santuario |
Terry Zach |
3.88 |
4.58 |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Sela Burkholder |
0.34 |
0.35 |
Jaramillo Arriba |
Steve Sarner |
2.78 |
3.62 |
Brisas Boquetenas |
Austin Perry |
0.0 |
0.25 |
Los Molinos |
Fred Donelson |
xx |
n/a |
Los Naranjos |
Craig Bennett |
3.14 |
5.07 |
Valle Escondido |
Mark Huehnergard |
1.42 |
1.45 |
Lucero (Cielo Paraiso) |
Michael Mullin |
0.0 |
0.18 |
Palmira Abajo |
Betty Gray |
0.0 |
n/a |
Palmira Arriba |
Lloyd Cripe |
0.47 |
0.93 |
n/a = not currently available |
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Note that El Santuario and Los Naranjos have over 3 inches of rain for the month. They get the most benefit from the bajareque that blows over with the Trade Winds from the Caribbean side. Consequently, plants always look greener north of downtown Bajo Boquete.
The following graph illustrates the monthly rainfall over the years from 2007 through 2015. This shows which months are associated with less and more rain. Note that March is typically a low rain month.
The following graph show average monthly winds. Note that March is typically one of our windiest months but not as bad as December.
I think we are having a somewhat typical February and March.
The latest ENSO Cycle Report is saying that "El Niño conditions are present...A transitiion fo ENSO neutral is likely during the late Northern Hemisphere spring or early summer 2016 with a possible transtion to La Niña conditions during the fall."
The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) (select South America from the Region menu) is reporting the precipitation predictions for March-April-May of 2016. Note that they are predicting Below Normal precipitation for areas around Panama for these months. This suggests that we will probably have a drier than normal dry season and beginning of the wet season.
ETESA's, hydrology and meteorology section is predicting a strong probability that the Chiriqui area will have mixed precipitation during the month of March 2016 with some areas below and other above normal. You can read their report and check out the details for March in the documents section at this link.
Things are probably going to be dry but we will get some rain. Water sparingly as water is a limited resource especially right now. April will start transitioning us back into the rainy season and by May we will probably be crying for relief from the rain. Keep the umbrellas handy you may need them and try to protect yourself from the political winds that are howling up north!
Lloyd Cripe