| June 4, 2013 | No. 61 |
May 2013
I posted the May 2013 weather data on June 1 for the Palmira Weather Station. We finally got some rain this month and the rainy season is well on its way. At the Palmira Station we had a total of 10.89 inches of rain with 20 days of some rain and 11 days with no rain. Our average winds were 3.3 mph. The Average Temperature was 68.3 F with a Minimum of 56.5 and a Maximum Temperature of 83.1 degrees F. Our average humidity was 71.6 percent. We now have 14.95 inches for the year.
Here are the totals for May of 2013 as reported from different areas in the District of Boquete:
Rainfall for May 2013 |
||
Area |
Contributor |
Inches |
| El Santuario | Terry Zach | 7.25 |
| Los Naranjos | Craig Bennett | 7.89 |
| Jaramillo Abajo | Sela Burkholder | 15.86 |
| Jaramillo Arriba | Steve Sarner | 11.01 |
| Lucero (Cielo Paraiso) | Michael Mullin | 21.47 |
| Palmira Arriba | Lloyd Cripe | 10.89 |
While we got some rain in May, here in Palmira we had a lower amount compared to the previous years we have measured since 2007. You can check the data for May from year to year at this link.
I posted the data for May on June 1 and started writing this update on Tuesday June 4 about 2:00pm. It was cloudy and thunderstorms were moving into the area. By 2:15pm we were getting heavy rain and lots of lightning strikes nearby. The electricity blinked off and on a couple of times. We then had lighting very nearby and I took a look at the weather station display to see how heavy it was raining. The numbers were crazy-nonsensical. This did not look good. Our electricity then went off and was off for about 5 hours. The computer and weather station radio has a very good battery backup system so I was able to check things out in the dark. It didn't look good. The rain guage was not readiing correctly. Looking at the data in the database file there were no new numbers registering after 2:25pm.
With the help of WeatherHawk tech support, I spent yesterday trouble shooting the system. The bottom line is that 2 cuircuit boards related to the rain guage were probably knocked out by the nearby lightning. They are sending new boards which I will promptly install. It may take a week or two for them to arrive. In the mean time, I will manually measure the rain every morning at 7:00am and report the last 24 hours of rain on the Quick Page of the website just above the WeatherHawk data display. I will let you know when we are back on the automated system and all is well in Paradise again.
I want to mention that the support from WeatherHawk over the years the station has been up has been beyond outstanding. They have helped me through a variety of repair and maintenance problems. They are truly a class A company. I highly recommend that if you are considering installing a weather station that you use this company. They have quality professional products and exceptional support. I could not have offered this labor of love to you without them. You can find cheaper stations but you will get cheap equipment and little to no support. WeatherHawk delivers.
Thanks to all of you who reported earthquakes in May. We had several. They always get our attention. Filing a report reduces the anxiety. Makes you feel as if you have some control over the fateful matter. It doesn't take long to make a report and it is useful not only to yourself but also to the reasearchers monitoring all of this. You can find the report form at this link or at the Earthquake Page on the website.
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 through the summer. 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 white & gray areas) for the months of June 2013 through August of 2013. Here is their current graphic.
We went to PriceSmart Monday and bought 2 new large golf course umbrellas. Looks like we will need them for the next several months. The old ones had gotten as tattered as their owners. Sure wish we could find a place that could referbish or replace the owners!
Lloyd Cripe