| June 02, 2018 | No.110 |
May 2018
(Back Issues Here)
May 2018 did not disappoint. We expected lots of rain and we got it. Here are the rainfall totals for the month. At the Palmira Station we had 34.86 inches of rain. The reports from around the District of Boquete for May 2018 are in the following table:
Rainfall for May 2018 |
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Area |
Contributors |
May |
Total 2018 |
El Santuario |
Terry Zach |
21.00 |
28.88 |
Jaramillo Arriba |
Steve Sarner |
30.09 |
40.72 |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Don Berkowitz |
n/a |
n/a |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Bobi McGann |
30.53 |
37.95 |
El Salto Arriba |
Rodrigo Marciacq |
22.69 |
28.35 |
Brisas Boquetenas |
Austin Perry |
29.25 |
n/a |
| Brisas Boquetenas | Richard Sturtz | 29.86 | n/a |
Los Molinos |
Sela Burkholder |
30.24 |
41.30 |
Santa Lucia |
Paula Litt |
34.22 |
n/a |
Lucero (Cielo Paraiso) |
Michael Mullin |
30.67 |
40.24 |
Palmira Abajo |
Betty Gray |
31.93 |
35.57 |
Palmira Arriba |
Lloyd Cripe |
34.86 |
37.56 |
n/a = not currently available but will be posted when available |
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All areas got plenty of rain. Note the highest rainfall for the month of May was at the Palmira Arriba Station with 34.86 inches. Santa Lucia was not far behind with 34.22 inches. 7 of the stations reporting had over 30 inches. Of course the question is whether or not this is a normal rainfall for the month of May or is it excessive?
Over the course of 11 years of data collection here at the Palmira Station the average rain for May has been 21.25 inches with a Standard Deviation of 11.55 inches. The range has been between 6.46 to 42.34 inches. This means that our rain for May 2018 is 1.18 standard deviations above average but within normal ranges. You can check out our Palmira Station rain records for yourself for the last 11 years at this link. It seemed like a lot of rain but was really just a clear sign that we are fully into the rainy season. The ITCZ was over us most of the month.
The latest ENSO Cycle Report is now saying that "ENSO-neutral conditions are present. Equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are near average across most of the Pacific Ocean. ENSO-neutral is favored through September-November 2018, with the possibility of El Niño nearing 50% by Northern Hemisphere winter 2018-19."
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 June-July-August 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 levels of precipitation for the month of June 2018. You can read their report and check out the details for June 2018 in the documents section at this link.
If you check the monthly weather data for the year, you will note that our average humidity has gradually increased. May brought an average humidity of nearly 75%. When humidity gets above 60% mildew starts to form. I noticed it was forming on some of my belts in the closet. I now have the dehumidifier running in the closet and it is set to come on at 60% humidity. This will take care of the mildew. Cooler temperatures also affects the humidity levels, so bringing the temperatures up in the closet would help. A 100 watt light bulb burning can help reduce mildew production by raising the temperature in a small area. Also circulating the air with a fan helps.
You probably heard in the news that Hawaii's big island volcano Kilauea is erupting and putting on quite a show along with some destruction. You can check out the maps here. I think it is important to realize that while this is a dramatic event only a small portion of the island is affected. I don't think the news reports always put this fact in perspective. Note on this map the yellow box area in the lower right.
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While umbrellas probably don't offer much protection from volcanoes, they sure come in handy, especially in the afternoons during the rainy season. Keep your umbrellas and spirits up, the rainy season won't last forever and will be ending in 5+ months!
Lloyd Cripe