| April 2, 2013 | No. 59 |
March 2013
I posted the March 2013 weather data for the Palmira Weather Station. It was basically another dry and windy month but we did get a bit of rain. At the Palmira Station we had a total of 3.6 inches of rain recorded on 7 separate days and 24 days with no rain. Our average winds were 9.7 mph with a Max gust Wind recording of 39.6 mph. The Average Temperature was 68.5 F with a Minimum of 58.3 and a Maximum Temperature of 85.3 degrees F.
Here are the totals for March of 2013 as reported from different areas in the District of Boquete:
Rainfall for March 2013 |
||
Area |
Contributor |
Inches |
| El Santuario | Terry Zach | 3.15 |
| Los Naranjos | Craig Bennett | 1.62 |
| Jaramillo Arriba | Steve Sarner | 3.35 |
| Lucero (Cielo Paraiso) | Michael Mullin | 3.4 |
| Jaramillo Abajo | Sela Burkholder | 3.0 |
| Palmira Arriba | Lloyd Cripe | 3.63 |
Thanks again to all those who check their systems daily and contribute their monthly data. As you can see from the table, there has been some precipitation in the Boquete area during March with about 3 inches overall. The 3 inches helped but we could now use more rain. It will probably happen this month as we continue to transition into the rainy season.
March was a windy month. Sela reports that the Jaramillo Abajo area had 18 days of "high winds." There were many cold fronts over the Caribbean that fueled air movement to our low pressure region causing ongoing NE winds.
We had several earthquakes in March. On March 12, 2013 there was 4.0M quake with the epicenter about 8k ESE of Bajo Boquete. Here , it was a solid jolt preceeded by a roaring noise. A second earthquake occurred on March 14 when there was a 5.1M quake at 53km S of Punta de Burica. I didn't even feel this one. You can check out the details at the respective links.
Earthquakes always get our attention and stir our anxieties. Fortunately, Panama has not had earthquakes in the past that were devistating. If you are like me though, checking the latest earthquake data seems to give me some comfort. Recently the link to the University of Panama GeoSciences has gotten no where. I am told by a reliable source, that the website is going to be revised and managed differently in the near future. So for the moment, you won't be able to get the latest information from them. I will inactivate the link now and put it back to active whenever it working again. You will have to go to USGS to get whatever information there is. It may take some time before Panama quakes are posted there. You can also check the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional (OVSICORI-A) website and see what information they have posted. At the top of their homepage you can select your preferred language.
Please report your earthquake experiences as soon as possible after experiencing them. This type of information is very useful to those researching and observing earthquake data. The Earthquake Report Form link is at the Earthquake page of the Website. The information goes to directly to researchers here in Panama. Report all quakes that you feel, even the small ones. These are the ones they really need to know about to best understand local events.
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. 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 April 2013 through June of 2013. Here is their current graphic.
This month should continue to transition into the rainy season which should be in full swing in May. May is often one of our rainiest months so brace yourself. Try and enjoy the good days and not complain too much about the dry or rainy ones. It is what it is.
Lloyd Cripe