| May 03, 2016 | No.87 |
April 2016
April, toward the end of the month, brought some much needed rain. The Palmira Station measured 6.93 inches. Our total for the year 2016 is now 7.86 inches. We are a few days into May and the rains are coming daily. The ITCZ is over us and the rain forest is smiling.
Thanks again to all those who contribute their monthly rain data. Here are the totals for April 2016 from various District of Boquete areas.
Rainfall for April 2016 |
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Area |
Contributors |
March |
Total 2016 |
El Santuario |
Terry Zach |
2.23 |
7.03 |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Sela Burkholder |
11.16 |
11.53 |
Jaramillo Arriba |
Steve Sarner |
n/a |
n/a |
Brisas Boquetenas |
Austin Perry |
8.30 |
8.55 |
Los Molinos |
Fred Donelson |
4.80 |
11.87 |
Los Naranjos |
Craig Bennett |
2.95 |
8.16 |
Valle Escondido |
Mark Huehnergard |
3.52 |
4.97 |
Lucero (Cielo Paraiso) |
Michael Mullin |
15.58 |
15.77 |
Palmira Abajo |
Betty Gray |
8.29 |
8.76 |
Palmira Arriba |
Lloyd Cripe |
6.93 |
7.86 |
n/a = not currently available |
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The highest rainfall was at Lucero and the lowest at El Santuario. The rainy season has begun
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 April averages 6.23 inches which is very close to what we experienced this month.
The following graph shows average monthly winds. Note that April averages 5.65 mph. We recorded 5.7 mph which is typical.
We can expect a lot more rain in May which is commonly one of our rainiest months of the year.
The latest ENSO Cycle Report is saying that "A transition to ENSO neutral is likely during late Northern Hemisphere spring or early summer 2016, with an increasing chance of La Niña during the second half of the year."
The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) (select South America from the Region menu) is reporting the precipitation predictions for May-June-July of 2016. Note that they are not making any predictions specific to Panama but areas to the east and south of Panama are forecasted to have above-average precipitation.
ETESA's, hydrology and meteorology section is predicting a strong probability that the Chiriqui area will have mixed precipitation during the month of May 2016 with some areas below and others above normal. It looks like they are predicting that our area will have normal precipitation. You can read their report and check out the details for May in the documents section at this link.
On April 27, 2016 Boquete lost one of it's prominent expats with the sudden death of Morton Rabkin. Mort was a loyal Weather Watcher, but more importantly my best friend. Most knew him as the "Rye Guy." Morton's Bakery was a place where we were greeted by him, partook of his products and enjoyed his passion for artisan bread. He made people happy. His remains are now in the new Jewish section of the Boquete Cementary. His lovely wife Barbara is continuing Morton's Bakery.
Mort with Julie & Cassie
For me the weather suddently turned dark and gloomy this last month, but I have the memories and hope of brighter days.
Lloyd Cripe