| September 19, 2017 | No.101 |
August 2017
(Back Issues Here)
We headed north the middle of August so we could take in the Solar Eclipse that traveled clear across the U.S.A. and to pursue our annual medical examinations. We saw the total eclipse on August 21, 2017 at Fox, Oregon. It was a spectacular experience for us. Because of this journey, I wasn't able to get the report out to you at the end of August. I appoligize, but here it is 2+ weeks late.
August at the Palmira Arriba station logged 13.09 inches of rain. By the end of August we had logged a total of 93.40 inches of rain for the year 2017.
Thanks again to all those who contribute their monthly rain data. Here are the totals for August of 2017 for the various District of Boquete areas.
Rainfall for August 2017 |
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Area |
Contributors |
August |
Total 2017 |
El Santuario |
Terry Zach |
11.3 |
78.22 |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Sela Burkholder |
18.14 |
141.44 |
Jaramillo Arriba |
Steve Sarner |
14.54 |
115.73 |
Brisas Boquetenas |
Austin Perry |
22.40 |
137.60 |
Los Molinos |
Fred Donelson |
57.18 |
211.94 |
Santa Lucia |
Paula Litt |
11.73 |
n/a |
Lucero (Cielo Paraiso) |
Michael Mullin |
28.95 |
174.68 |
Palmira Abajo |
Betty Gray |
14.94 |
106.92 |
Palmira Arriba |
Lloyd Cripe |
13.09 |
93.40 |
n/a = not currently available but will be posted when available |
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There is as always, considerable variability between the various Boquere District areas and this month is no exception. The lowest rainfall for August 2017 was El Santuario with 11.3 inches and the highest was 57.18 inches at Los Molinos. I was surprised with the Los Molinos finding and asked Fred Donelson to double check to make sure this was accurate. He assures me it is accurate. Wow! That was a wet place in August.
Unfortunately, several contributors are no longer reporting. Craig Bennett from the Los Naranjos area is returning to the U.S. and won't be around to daily record and monthly report the rain. He contributed data for 5+ years. Thanks Craig for your dedicated help. We will miss you. Also Sela Burkholder who has faithfully reported for many years is relocating to Los Molinos will no longer report from the Jaramillo Abajo area after September. I am hopeful that she will be able to collect some more data at Los Molinos.
Paula Litt is now reporting the rainfall from Santa Lucia. I helped her set up a good quality manual rain gauge and she turned in her first report for August. Thanks Paula for joining the rain watchers.
Looking at the monthly rainfall graph for the Palmira Station from 2007 to the present we see that August is variable but averages 19.96 inches of rain with a range of 4.14 to 38.09 inches. This year's August rainfall at Palmira Arriba was below normal but not the lowest amount we have had over the years. I generally think of August as a light but moderate rainfall month during the rainy season. The rain tends to pickup in September and October which can be some of our rainiest months.
The latest ENSO Cycle Report is saying that "ENSO-Neutral conditions are present. Equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are near-to-below average across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. There is an increasing chance (~55%-60%) of La Niña during the Northern Hemisphere fall and winter 2017-18."
The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) (select South America from the Region menu) is reporting the following precipitation predictions for October-November-December of 2017. Note a prediction of higher than normal precipitation for our area (green) and generally mixed for South America.
ETESA's, hydrology and meteorology section is predicting that we will generally have a tendency toward above normal levels of precipitation in our part of Chiriqui and variable but mostly below normal for other parts of Panama for the month of August 2017. You can read their report and check out the details for August 2017 in the documents section at this link.
As you probably know, hurricanes have been raising havoc in the Caribbean, and hitting Texas and Florida. Interestingly, we didn't get much spin off from these powerful systems. They usually curve north and leave us alone, but we can get rains associated with their massive spiraling bands of rain. We lucked out. Those in the path had very bad luck. As I write this, a new Hurricane Maria is raging through the Caribbean devastating some islands. You can read about it here at Bob Henson's current Weather Underground article, "Maria Headed for Catastrophic Hit on Puerto Rico, St. Croix." He also discusses the likely path it will take heading north.
Although we never know until it happens, based upon the data from past years, September is often higher in rainfall than August. I tend to think of September and October as the rainiest months during the rainy season. So be prepared for more rain and the need for a serviceable umbrella.
Full Eclipse with Sun's Corona
By the way, if you would like to see some more photos we got and read some information about the eclipse, go to this link. We have seen 3 of these in our lifetimes. This was the best. The weather cooperated and it was bright and sunny. What a view.
Lloyd Cripe