October 3, 2024

No.186

September 2024
(Back Issues Here)

We had 27.36 inches of rain at the Palmira Arriba Station during the month of September 2024.

Rainfall for September 2024
Area	Contributors	September 2024	Total 2024
El Salto Arriba	Beth Corwin	19.23	81.09
El Santuario	Robert Boyd	n/a	n/a
Bajo Lino	Rodrigo Marciacq	14.38	n/a
Los Cabazon	Don Hughes	20.42	93.01
Jaramillo Arriba	Steve Sarner	27.37	143.03
Jaramillo Arriba	Mark Heyer	21.57	103.16
Jaramillo Abajo	John McGann	27.00	148.51
Palo Alto	Nancy Pettersen	16.99	91.85
Valle Escondido	Gisela Remsen	20.01	94.20
Brisas  Boquetenas	Dennis Decorte	n/a	n/a
Brisas Boquetenas	Richard Sturz	n/a	n/a
El Encanto (Volcancito)	Brian Baldwin	23.19	92.82
Cerro Verde (Volcancito)	Charlotte Lintz	12.90	68.60
Santa Lucia	Paula Litt	20.43	113.83
Caldera	Chris McCall	22.67	149.67
Lucero	Mike Joy	37.04	183.25
Palmira Abajo	Andrea Boraine	35.20	n/a
Palmira Abajo	Dave Nichols	26.08	139.33
Palmira Arriba	Lloyd Cripe	27.36	117.94
El Banco (Potrerillos Arriba)	Laura Daniels	n/a	n/a
N/A = Not Available Red = Highest rainfalls Green = Lowest rainfall

The highest reported rainfalls are noted with the red boxes.  The highest was 37.05 at Lucero reported by Mike Joy.  The lowest rainfall was 8.26 inches reported by Charlotte Lintz at Cerro Verde high up on the Volcancito Road. Note the variation around the area in the table above.

Looking at the past data from the Palmira Arriba Station over a span of 18 years, the average rainfall for the months of September is 21.40 inches.  The range is 36.7 with a low of 9.30 to a high of 46.00 inches of rain. This month's 27.36 inches is 5.96 inches above the annual mean of 21.40 inches. This +0.64 standard deviations above the mean is above the mean but s within the normal statistical range. We had more than normal but not out of the normal range.

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

Palmira Arriba Station September Rainfalls over 18 Years

You can Check it out for yourself here.

Last month the average winds at the Palmira Station were 1.04 mph with maximum winds of 16.20 mph. During the rainy season we have lower winds which will kick up when the dry season begins in December and on through the dry season.  

The average temperature in September was 70.45 degrees Fahrenheit.  The lowest temperature was 61.9 degrees Fahrenheit and the highest was 84.0 F.

You can check out all of our (Palmira Station) last months posted weather data for September at this link.

The latest ENSO Cycle Report is saying that "ENSO-neutral conditions are present. Equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are near-to-below-average in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. La Niña is favored to emerge in September-November (71% chance) and is expected to persist through January-March 2025.)

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.   

The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) (select South America from the Region menu) is predicting higher rainfall for our area during the months of October-November-December 2024 (green and blue).

IMHPA (Instituto de Meteorología e Hidrología de Panamá) documents section predicts that the October rainfall for Chiriqui will be above normal levels.  You can read all of their report and check out the details in the "documents" section at this link.

You have probably heard about Hurricane Helene that blasted the Southeast and left a broad trail of devastation. It was a very strong weather event affecting a lot of people. I recommend that you read more about it in these articles written by Dr. Jeff Masters at the Yale Climate Connections Website. They are very informative. October is often the month with increased Atlantic hurricane activity.

We spent most of the month of September in the Pacific Northwest. The weather was very nice.  We missed out on September in Paradise but we are now home and facing the rains of October. 

We have now entered the month of October which is often the rainiest month of the year. Be prepared for lots of rain and try to not let it get you down.  It makes the "rainforest" thrive and eventually tappers off into the dry season. 

The U.S. Presidential Election happens in just over a month. If you are a citizen of the U.S. don't forget to vote.  I strongly recommend that you vote for a President that understands Climate Change, how it is affecting the weather and seriously impacting the world.  Support governmental leaders and actions that will work together to be good stewards of the earth. Climate change is a serious problem that needs prompt and steady intervention. Support leaders that appreciate the science of climate change and will take actions to intervene as much as possible.

Good luck with October's rain and don't let it get you down.  Be sure that you always have your umbrellas nearby and ready for surviving the wet month. Remember Paradise needs lots of rain to keep it green and thriving.

Lloyd Cripe

lcripe@boqueteweather.com