September  9, 2021

No.149

August 2021
(Back Issues Here)

We just returned from a trip to the U.S. so I am a bit late with this update. We had 16.11 inches of rain at the Palmira Arriba Station in August of 2021.  This is above average rainfall for the month of August over the 16 years we have been measuring (average for the station in August has been 12.89 inches). The reports from around the District of Boquete for August vary but generally indicate a hefty rainfall for the month. 

Rainfall for August 2021
Area	Contributors	August 2021	Total 2021
El Salto Arriba	Beth Corwin	15.11	n/a
El Santuario	Robert Boyd	12.18	67.59
El Santuario	Rodrigo Marciacq	9.08	60.69
Barriade Las Flores	Bill Brick	12.73	64.03
Jaramillo Arriba	Steve Sarner	27.25	107.33
Jaramillo Arriba	Mark Heyer	21.50	84.39
Jaramillo Central	Dave Nichols	25.63	89.39
Jaramillo Abajo	Don Berkowitz	31.95	101.79
Jaramillo Abajo	Bobi McGann	28.64	98.90
Palo Alto	Nancy Pettersen	18.86	97.70
Valle Escondido	Doug Remsen	13.11	50.96
Brisas  Boquetenas	Austin Perry	n/a	n/a
Brisas Boquetenas	Richard Sturtz	n/a	n/a
Los Molinos	Sela Burkholder	26.80	97.63
El Encanto (Volcancito)	Brian Baldwin	15.12	n/a
Cerro Verde (Volcancito)	Charlotte Lintz	10.54	n/a
Santa Lucia	Paula Litt	16.66	66.20
Caldera	Chris Mccall	27.24	86.56
Lucero	Michael Mullin	47.17	139.40
Boquete Country Club	Paul Arrandale	21.21	84.39
Palmira Abajo	Betty Gray	18.43	73.05
Palmira Arriba	Lloyd Cripe	16.11	64.88
El Banco	Laura Daniels	26.49	n/a

The highest rainfall for August 2021 in the District of Boquete was reported by Michael Mullin at Lucero with 47.17 inches. The lowest rainfalls for the month were reported by Rodrigo Marciacq at El Santuario with 9.08 inches and Charlotte Lintz with 10.54 inches at Cerro Verde (Volcancito). 

You can look for yourself at a graph of rain data for all the months over the course of the years I have published our rain data and see how this last month compares.  You can also look at the tables in the Climate Section to see what rains we have had in various months over the course of 15 years as well as other weather variables.

The latest ENSO Cycle Report is saying that "ENSO-neutral conditions are present. Equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are near-to-below average across most of the Pacific Ocean. ENSO-neutral is favored for the remainder of summer (~60% chance in the JulySeptember season), with La Niña possibly emerging during the August-October season and lasting through the 2021-22 winter (~70% chance during November-January)."

Here is a link to a source for 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 Panama will have a 40% probability of below normal levels of precipitation for the months of September-October-November 2021 (yellow/orange areas).

ETESA's hydrology and meteorology section is predicting that Chiriqui will generally have normal to above normal levels of precipitation during September of 2021. You can read their report and check out the details in the "documents" section at this link. 

Different places in the U.S. have been struggling with heat and drought and excessive moisture/flooding (related to Hurricanes and Tropical Storms).

In August the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) issued the Sixth Assessment Report on Climate Change. This is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.  If you want to know the current science and facts about climate change, read this report. My opinion is that this is the best information we have as layman regarding on the facts and science of climate change as well as the guidelines for governmental policies to hopefully deal with this challenge. Don't bug me about this matter of climate change unless you are a qualified climate scientist or have followed and read the IPCC reports. 

The coronavirus is firing up again, especially the Delta variation.  At the moment the worldometer reports 224,163,986 cases of COVID worldwide with 4,623,479 deaths and 200,774,214 recovered cases.  The USA has 41,562,429 total cases with 674,589 total deaths and 31,746,333 recovered cases. According to the Johns Hopkins website, in the U.S. weekly cases and deaths have been on the increase mostly related to the Delta variant of the virus.  

The Panama case data reports seem to me to be quite limited.  Although some have pointed me toward possible resources of Panama data, I don't think that we really know the number of cases and deaths in this country and the various Provinces. 

In the U.S. according to the Johns Hopkins website the cases of covid are on the increase and mostly related to the Delta variety. Tragically, the new cases are still mainly among persons who have not been vaccinated.  There are very few breakthrough cases among persons who have been fully vaccinated and almost no hospitalizations and deaths.  If you want to checkout the facts, read this article.

To me the facts and the bottom line are clear:  It is foolhardy to not be vaccinated when it is available to you.

While on our trip to the U.S., we met a person who has lost 5 family members to COVID19 that include his mother.  None were vaccinated.  He told us that wearing masks in public and crowded places should be a must and not getting vaccinated was total foolishness.  He is totally baffled at the resistance to common sense.  I agree.

MONITORING CORONAVIRUS STATUS LINKS 

September and October often bring heavier rainfalls here in Boquete.  Accept this reality.  Some find it helpful to head somewhere else on the planet during these months. This is an option. If you stay here, keep the umbrellas handy, possibly leave them open and try to enjoy the nourishment of the rain from heaven for the beautiful forests.  Get vaccinated if you haven't, stay well and most of all stay alive.  Enjoy it all. 

Lloyd Cripe

lcripe@boqueteweather.com