August 3, 2024

No.184

July 2024
(Back Issues Here)

We had 14.67 inches of rain at the Palmira Arriba Station during the month of July 2024.

Rainfall for July 2024
Area	Contributors	July 2024	Total 2024
El Salto Arriba	Beth Corwin	11.06	52.27
El Santuario	Robert Boyd	n/a	n/a
Bajo Lino	Rodrigo Marciacq	17.18	n/a
Los Cabazon	Don Hughes	18.93	58.75
Jaramillo Arriba	Steve Sarner	23.28	95.21
Jaramillo Arriba	Mark Heyer	14.75	65.84
Jaramillo Abajo	Don Berkowitz	23.23	120.40
Jaramillo Abajo	John McGann	22.66	102.65
Palo Alto	Nancy Pettersen	17.78	59.93
Valle Escondido	Gisela Remsen	16.38	59.80
Brisas  Boquetenas	Dennis Decorte	29.27	137.67
Brisas Boquetenas	Richard Sturz	27.51	159.39
El Encanto (Volcancito)	Brian Baldwin	14.3	56.45
Cerro Verde (Volcancito)	Charlotte Lintz	9.63	47.44
Santa Lucia	Paula Litt	16.51	76.54
Caldera	Chris McCall	17.75	101.13
Lucero	Mike Joy	25.81	148.14
Palmira Abajo	Andrea Boraine	32.50	n/a
Palmira Abajo	Dave Nichols	14.39	87.06
Palmira Arriba	Lloyd Cripe	14.67	74.74
El Banco (Potrerillos Arriba)	Laura Daniels	23.58	124.25
N/A = Not Available Red = Highest rainfalls Green = Lowest rainfall

Throughout the District of Boquete, the rain for July varied but was generally lower than last month.  The highest reported rainfalls are noted with the red boxes.  The highest was 32.50 inches at Palmira Abajo reported by Andrea Boraine.  29.27 inches was reported at Brisas Boquetenas by Dennis Decorte and 25.81 reported by Mike Joy at Lucero. The lowest rainfall was 9.63 inches reported by Charlotte Lintz at Cerro Verde up high on the Volcancito Road. 

Looking at the past data from the Palmira Arriba Station over a span of 18 years, the average rainfall for the months of July is 12.09 inches.  The range is 28.23 with a low of 2.79 to a high of 31.02 inches. This month's 14.67 inches is +0.37 inches above the annual mean of 12.09 inches. This is statistically within the normal range. 

 Here is a summary of the statistics for the months of July collected over a span of 18 years.  

Palmira Arriba Station July Rainfalls over 18 Years

Check it out for yourself here.

Last month the average winds at the Palmira Station were 1.92 mph with maximum winds of 18.1 mph. 

The average temperature in July was 71.62 degrees Fahrenheit.  The lowest temperature was 63.1 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can check out all of last months posted weather data at this link.

The latest ENSO Cycle Report is saying that "ENSO-neutral conditions are present. Equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are above average in the western and west-central Pacific, near average in the east-central Pacific, and below average in the eastern Pacific Ocean. ENSO-neutral is expected to continue for the next several months, with La Niña favored to develop during August-October (70% chance) and persist into the Northern Hemisphere winter 2024-25 (79% chance during November-January)."

Here is a link to a source to better understand El Niño in case you need some help interpreting what this all means. Give this a read and you will learn a lot about this important weather phenomenon that affects global weather. It has more effect upon the Northern Latitudes than it has upon us here in the tropics. From this article it appears that the effects on our area will be "warm and dry."  

The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) (select South America from the Region menu) is predicting some chance that Panama will probably have above normal precipitation during the months of August-September-October 2024 (light green).

IMHPA (Instituto de Meteorología e Hidrología de Panamá) documents section predicts that the August "...rainfall values ​​are expected to have an above-normal behavior for Chiriquí..."  You can read all of their report and check out the details in the "documents" section at this link.

As I write this report another tropical storm is forming and threatening Florida and the southeast United States.  Read about it here.

I want to tell you about something we found here in Boquete after looking for it for 18 years -- a professional window cleaner!

The house we built here in Palmira Arriba has 3 levels and lots of windows.  Before we moved here, our house on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State near Sequim, WA sat on the top of a mountain with 3 floor levels and lots of windows.  We had a professional window cleaner that showed up on a regular schedule and kept our windows sparkling clean.  Before we moved, we knew that we would have lots of windows here, so I asked him if he would teach me how to wash windows like he did it.  He agreed and taught me what equipment to buy and how to do it correctly. We came to Panama with the right equipment and ready to wash the many windows.

Over the last 18 years I have done my best to do the window job.  It would take me parts of 2 days to get them all washed and considerable ladder work.  As I aged and moved into my 80's, it became more and more difficult for me to do the job and do it safely and adequately.  A couple of years ago, at my wife's insistence and orders, I stopped climbing the tall ladders.  I tried to do it all from the ground with long poles.  I found it more and more difficult to physically get the job done.

I should also mention that over the 18 years I tried to find a good professional window washer but to no avail.  I also tried to talk a few young people into learning the skils and start their own businesses but no takers. I finally gave up and didn't know what to do next.

Recently, I walked into the Garden Restaurant in Plaza San Francisco to have lunch with a friend and at the counter there was a business card holder with cards that looked like this:

I eventually called Andrew and made an appointment for him come see our place and give us a quote to clean our windows.  We communicated via WhatsApp and we agreed for him to come and do the job.  He came on time. Shortly after his visit, he sent the quote.  We agreed on it and he scheduled the days.

He came on 2 different days and worked about 10 hours. He had quality equipment and worked efficiently and carefully.  The results were excellent -- sparkling clean. We are very pleased with his work.

So after 18 years, we finally found a professional window cleaner who knows what he is doing and does it exceptionally well. Andrew was a professional window cleaner in the San Diego area. He and his wife have lived here 6+ years.  He is honest, trustworthy and an exceptional tradesman.  We highly recommend Andrew's services.  He is truly a professional and a "Clear Choice".  We plan to have him  clean our windows on a regular schedule.   

Because of the spotless windows, we can now look outside and actually see the weather as it happens.  This also helps us decide if we need to take the umbrellas  when we leave the farm for town.  My wife no longer bugs me about climbing ladders, which is well worth the price of the window cleaner! Additionally she is happier with Andrew's professional skills than she was of my amateur ways! 

Expect more rain this month.

Lloyd Cripe

lcripe@boqueteweather.com