| April 3, 2019 | No.120 |
March 2019
(Back Issues Here)
March 2019 was another dry month here at the Palmira Station. The reports from around the District of Boquete for March 2019 indicate light precipitation in some areas but basically it was another dry month for the district:
Rainfall for
March 2019 |
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Area |
Contributors |
March |
Total 2019 |
El Santuario |
Terry Zach |
0.35 | 1.08 |
Jaramillo Arriba |
Steve Sarner |
0.40 | 1.43 |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Don Berkowitz |
0.20 | 0.34 |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Bobi McGann |
0.15 | 0.36 |
El Salto Arriba |
Rodrigo Marciacq |
0.00 | 0.10 |
Brisas Boquetenas |
Austin Perry |
1.70 | 1.70 |
| Brisas Boquetenas | Richard Sturtz | 1.86 | 1.87 |
Los Molinos |
Sela Burkholder |
2.37 | 2.63 |
| Los Molinos | Fred Donelson | 0.01 | 0.19 |
Santa Lucia |
Paula Litt |
0.00 | 0.08 |
Lucero (Cielo Paraiso) |
Michael Mullin |
0.61 | 2.60 |
Cerro Verde |
Charlotte Lintz |
0.00 | 1.03 |
Boquete Country Club |
Paul Arrandale |
0.08 | 0.15 |
Palmira Abajo |
Betty Gray |
0.00 | 0.01 |
Palmira Arriba |
Lloyd Cripe |
0.00 |
0.16 |
n/a = not currently available but will be posted when available |
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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 0.00 inches. It continues to be a very "Dry Season" with plenty of wind and no rain. Today as I write this, the winds are blowing and rain is unlikely.
Compared to the data for the last 11 years at our station, this is a low rainfall month but not so unusual for March. There have been some years with more and some years with less rain in March 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 March over the years.
I asked myself again this month, "Whether or not the last 4 months (the main part of the Dry Season) have been drier than normal?" The answer is yes. The chart below is a comparison of total rain fall during the months of December, January, February and March over the last 12 years.
Note that the 4 month total rainfall (Dec-Jan-Feb-Mar) is the lowest we have ever had in 12 years of our measurements with only 0.45 inches in 4 months. There has been a lot of variation over the years but not as little rain as this Dry Season is experiencing. It is really dry. Notice also that the trend line is downward.
The Dry Season is still not over but we usually start getting some rains in March and then more in April until we evolve into the full Rainy Season in May. The crops and water sources for people need rain. Let's hope we start getting some precipitation soon. Our coffee plants have a lot of potential buds on them but rain is needed for fuil blooms.
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 Nino conditions are likely to continue through the Northern Hemisphere spring 2019 (~80% chance) and summer (~60% chance)."
By the way, dry weather in this area of the world is often associated with the El Niño conditions. Here is an excellent source for understanding El Niño that Sarah Terry shared with me. Give it a read and you will learn a lot about this important weather phenomenon. I think it is the best explanation that I have ever seen. Thanks Sarah for sharing this with us.
The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) (select South America from the Region menu) is reporting the following precipitation predictions for April-May_June of 2019. Note the prediction of below normal precipitation for most of Panama (mostly yellow to some brown).
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ETESA's, hydrology and meteorology section was predicting that Chiriqui would have normal to below normal levels of precipitation in March of 2019 depending upon the specific area. They have not yet posted their prognostications for April of 2019. You can read their March report and check out the details in the "documents" section at this link. Obviously, the March predictions were wrong.
April will probably continue to be dry with hopefully some rains, but the prediction of rain is not looking good. The winds will continue with the dry weather. When the winds die down and the ITCZ moves over us, we will see some rain. Keep your fingers crossed and work on your rain dances.
I am a bit worried about the lack of rain. This combined with my age has resulted in forgetting not only where it is, but also what it is...You know...That thing we used to use to protect us from the rain? I think it starts with the letter U but don't remember.
Lloyd Cripe