| April 10, 2018 | No.108 |
March 2018
(Back Issues Here)
March 2018 is over and here are the rainfall totals for the month. At the Palmira Station we had 0.0 inches of rain. No rain.
The reports from around the District of Boquete for March are in the table below:
Rainfall for March 2018 |
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Area |
Contributors |
March |
Total 2018 |
El Santuario |
Terry Zach |
0.20 |
7.28 |
Jaramillo Arriba |
Steve Sarner |
0.25 |
8.59 |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Don Berkowitz |
0.0 |
1.43 |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Bobi McGann |
0.0 |
3.06 |
El Salto Arriba |
Rodrigo Marciacq |
0.0 |
3.64 |
Brisas Boquetenas |
Austin Perry |
n/a |
n/a |
Los Molinos |
Sela Burkholder |
0.42 |
2.98 |
Santa Lucia |
Paula Litt |
0.0 |
n/a |
Lucero (Cielo Paraiso) |
Michael Mullin |
0.0 |
2.61 |
Palmira Abajo |
Betty Gray |
0.0 |
0.56 |
Palmira Arriba |
Lloyd Cripe |
0.0 |
0.85 |
n/a = not currently available but will be posted when available |
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A dry month. Compared to previous years from 2007 to 2018, we had less than normal rain for the average March. The average has been 2.37 inches with a range from 0.0 to 7.09 inches. The last 4 years have however all been low. You can check out our Palmira Station rain records for the last 11 years at this address.
March is still part of the dry season so low winds and low humidity are expected. Rain will pick up in April but we will clearly be into the wet season by May. As I write this, we have already had 1.10 inches of rain so far in April. Our very dry brown lawn is now starting to slightly turn green. Be patient. It won't be long until we will be begging for less rain but the green will brighten life in Paradise.
The latest ENSO Cycle Report is now saying that "La Niña conditions are present. Equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are below average across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. A transition from La Niña to ENSO neutral is most likely (~55% chance) during the March-May season, with neutral conditions likely to continue into the second half of the year."
A transition from La Niña to ENSO-neutral is most likely (~55% chance) during the March-May season, with neutral conditions likely to continue into the second half of the year.
If you want to learn more about El Niño, this is a link to a good web site to 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 April-May-June of 2018. Note a 40 % probability prediction of below normal precipitation for our area (yellow).
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ETESA's, hydrology and meteorology section is predicting that most parts of Chiriqui will have generally normal to above levels of precipitation for the month of April 2018. You can read their report and check out the details for April 2018 in the documents section at this link.
Here are a couple things on the Internet that I find interesting and useful. The first is a web site with amazing weather graphics. Spend a little time there and discover all the possibilities. The Wind graphics are especially informative. Here is the link to Windy.com. I regularly visit this site to see what the winds are doing.
The second is a handy calculator for determining the volume of rainfall and run off. For example, if we get 2 inches of rain in a couple of hours, what will be the volume of rain that will come off the roof and have to go somewhere? If for example your roof area is about 30 feet by 60 feet (1800 square feet), you can calculate that 2244.16 gallons will come off the roof. That is a lot of water that has to go somewhere. Where is it going to go? What if you could catch it and use it for irrigation water? Check it out. You can adjust all the variables to your liking and needs. You could even calculate how much rain will fall on your total property. Here is the link to Volume of Rain Calculator
Dr. Paul Myers, the retired Geology professor from the University of Wisconsin who lives most of the year in Vermont, that I mentioned last month, gave his talk about Volcan Baru for the second time on March 27, 2018. The first presentation was so well attended that they had to turn people away. There was darn near a riot when they couldn't see the Rock Star. The second presentation was also to a full house. The talk he gave along with his PowerPoint presentation are soon to be published at Chiriqui Life. Be sure to take a listen and a look. Dr. Myers has become quite a "Rock Star" around Boquete. Here is a photo of the Rock Star professor on top of Baru, 2 days before his talk, taking a closer look at the sleeping "Grandpa Baru."
Dr. Myers and his lovely wife Welthy plan on returning to Boquete next November and staying a few months. He will continue sharing his geology knowledge and going on adventures with us. He has helped us learn about our backyard volcano and plans on going further explorations with us. We really appreciate his presence. Besides being a highly experienced geologist and a Rock Star, he is a Rock Solid Guy! Who knows, he may show up next year wearing sequins or at least bits of mica.
In the mean time, definitely get ready for some serious umbrella use. The rain is soon to come.
Lloyd Cripe