Sep 3, 2022

No.161

August 2022
(Back Issues Here)

We had 19.59 inches of rain at the Palmira Arriba Station in August of 2022. 

Rainfall for August 2022
Area	Contributors	August 2022	Total 2022
El Salto Arriba	Beth Corwin	19.81	87.48
El Santuario	Robert Boyd	17.44	98.83
El Santuario	Rodrigo Marciacq	15.48	91.14
Barriade Las Flores	Bill Brick	17.80	97.07
Los Cabezos	Don Hughes	19.15	112.58
Jaramillo Arriba	Steve Sarner	26.94	158.46
Jaramillo Arriba	Mark Heyer	20.00	115.50
Jaramillo Central	Dave Nichols	23.86	142.59
Jaramillo Abajo	Don Berkowitz	34.15	n/a
Jaramillo Abajo	John McGann	26.98	147.21
Palo Alto	Nancy Pettersen	18.71	97.93
Valle Escondido	Gisela Remsen	16.30	83.86
Brisas  Boquetenas	Austin Perry	48.00	185.08
Brisas  Boquetenas	Dennis DeCorte	34.31	n/a
Los Molinos	Sela Burkholder	42.08	167.39
El Encanto (Volcancito)	Brian Baldwin	14.31	101.09
Cerro Verde (Volcancito)	Charlotte Lintz	12.30	n/a
Santa Lucia	Paula Litt	20.25	121.27
Caldera	Chris Mccall	27.35	166.80
Lucero	Mike Joy	29.89	n/a
Boquete Country Club	Paul Arrandale	23.97	116.78
Palmira Abajo	Betty Gray	20.44	117.95
Palmira Arriba	Lloyd Cripe	19.59	118.63
El Banco	Laura Daniels	44.60	n/a

At the Palmira Arriba Station we recorded 19.59 inches of rain for August. This amount is above normal but not much above normal.  The average for the month of August over 16 years is 17.53 inches with a standard deviation of 9.85 inches. This August was 0.21 standard deviations above the mean which is not enough deviation from normal to say we had excessive rain.  We might say "a bit over average."  The range recorded over the 16 years for August is a low of 4.14 inches (2015) to a high of 39.88 inches (2008).  This table summarizes the statistics for the month of August over 16 years.

Palmira Arriba Station August Rainfall over 16 Years

In the District of Boquete the rain for August ranged from a low of 12.30 inches in Cerro Verde (Upper Volcancito) reported by Charolette Lintz and a high of 48 inches in Brisas Boquetenas reported by Austin Perry. Sela Burkholder in Los Molinos reported "buckets of rain" with 42.08 inches. 

Laura Daniels just west of the District of Boquete in El Banco reported 44.60 inches their finca.

Unfortunately, I don't have the historical data for all the areas in the district that I have for our Palmira Station to determine whether the month and year-to-date rains were more or less than in previous years.  Some of the contributors say that August was a heavy rain month and the rain for the year is competing for high marks. Without historical data it is difficult to know. Regardless, there was plenty of rain!

Take a look at this table to compare the amount of rain per month over the course of 16 years at the Palmira Arriba Station.  You can check each month for yourself and see how the current month falls compared to other years. You can also check and see how the total rainfall for the year at the end of August (118.63 inches) compares to previous years at the Palmira Station.  You can also look at the tables in the Climate Section to see what rains we had in various months over the course of the last 16 years as well as other weather variables.

I have mentioned before but will say again, the most northern parts of the district don't usually get as much rain during the rainy season as the more southern parts.  This is due to the rain systems forming over the Pacific to our south and then moving north dumping rain has the systems elevate.  During our dry season the rain and bajareques that come from the Caribbean tend to dump more rain in our northern sectors.  During our dryer months we often see the opposite with the northern areas getting more precipitation than the south.

The latest ENSO Cycle Report is saying that "La Niña is present. Equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are below average across most of the Pacific Ocean. The tropical Pacific atmosphere is consistent with La Niña. La Niña is expected to continue, with chances for La Niña gradually decreasing from 86% in the coming season to 60% during December-February 2022-23."

Here is a link to a source for a better understanding El Niño.  If you need some help with this, give this a read and you will learn a lot about this important weather phenomenon.

The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) (select South America from the Region menu) is predicting that parts of Panama will have a 45% probability of above average levels of precipitation for the months of September-October-November 2022 (light green).

ETESA's hydrology and meteorology section is predicting that Chiriqui will have above normal levels of precipitation during September of 2022. You can read their report and check out the details in the "documents" section at this link.

You can watch a daily video report of Panama weather conditions at the ETESA website or on YouTube.  Here is the link to their YouTube Channel.  If you click the Subscribe button and the bell you get daily notifications of the report.  You also get to practice your Spanish skills by watching it!

 

By the way, just several months back I was hearing a lot of complaints about how dry things were around here. The tune has certainly changed to whines and complaints of how wet things now are.  I heard someone saying that we have gotten "3 times the amount of rain so far this year than we normally get."  Of course this isn't true. Take a little time to check out the data on the website and get your minds exposed to some facts rather than just guessing.  It is now the real full-blown rainy season. September and October will certainly bring a lot more rain as they usually do. Enjoy the typical sunny mornings. Keep your kindles full of books, the movies streaming in on your high or low speed internet connections and keep your umbrellas cocked and ready for battle! We can all get through this. Another option is to head somewhere else the next couple of months like your weather guy is going to do.  

 

Lloyd Cripe

lcripe@boqueteweather.com