November 3, 2023

No.175

October 2023
(Back Issues Here)

October, often the rainiest month of the year here in Boquete, did not disappoint this year! We had 35.49 inches of rain at the Palmira Arriba Station during the month. It rained various amounts on the 28 days of varying amounts of rain. That is near a yard (36 inches) of rain in one month. That is a lot of rain!  

Rainfall for October 2023
Area	Contributors	October 2023	Total 2023
El Salto Arriba	Beth Corwin	31.73	102.16
Alto Quiel	Robert Wareham	19.79	N/A
El Santuario	Robert Boyd	22.18	81.51
Palo Alto	Rodrigo Marciacq	21.19	N/A
Los Cabazon	Don Hughes	27.53	88.35
Jaramillo Arriba	Steve Sarner	44.52	130.77
Jaramillo Arriba	Mark Heyer	31.71	N/A
Palmira Abajo	Dave Nichols	49.22	N/A
Jaramillo Abajo	Don Berkowitz	51.57	N/A
Jaramillo Abajo	John McGann	49.58	128.44
Palo Alto	Nancy Pettersen	20.85	92.43
Valle Escondido	Gisela Remsen	23.57	75.04
Brisas  Boquetenas	Dennis Decorte	66.31	N/A
Brisas Boquetenas	Richard Sturz	46.36	164.00
El Encanto (Volcancito)	Brian Baldwin	27.80	87.39
Cerro Verde (Volcancito)	Charlotte Lintz	23.77	74.33
Santa Lucia	Paula Litt	30.64	90.93
Caldera	Chris McCall	49.06	133.20
Lucero	Mike Joy	61.72	177.81
Boquete Country Club	Paul Arrandale	N/A	N/A
Palmira Abajo	Andrea Boraine	34.80	117.30
Palmira Arriba	Lloyd Cripe	35.49	104.51
El Banco	Laura Daniels	58.20	N/A
N/A = Not Available

Throughout the District of Boquete the rain for October 2023 varied between a high of 66.31 inches (Brisas Boquetenas ) to a low of 19.17 inches (Alto Quiel). Lucero had lots of rain with 61.72 inches. Check the table above to see which other areas of Boquete had the most and the least rain for the month. In general Boquete had a significant rainy October as was expected.

Looking back into the past data from the Palmira Arriba Station, the average rainfall for the month of October observed over 17 years of data collection is 26.98 inches of rain with a standard deviation of 8.64 inches. During that span of time there has never been a month of October without rain. The range has varied between 15.27 (2017) to 45.92 (2011) inches. This month of October was 1.08+ standard deviations above the mean of 25.64 inches.  This is a little over 1 standard deviation above the mean.  So the rain for October here in Palmira Arriba was a high average. 

Palmira Arriba Station October Rainfall over 17 Years

Take a look at this table to compare the amount of rain per month over the course of 17 years at the Palmira Arriba Station.  You can check each month for yourself and see how the current month's data compares to other years. 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.  

The average monthly temperature in October was 70.40 degrees Fahrenheit with a maximum of 85.1 degrees and a minimum of 63.9 degrees. Our average humidity was the highest month of the year at 80.10% which is expected with the high precipitation.  These are good temperatures and humidity to grow mildew/molds.

The latest ENSO Cycle Report is saying that "El Niño conditions are observed. Equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are above average across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. The tropical Pacific atmospheric anomalies are consistent with El Niño. El Niño is anticipated to continue through the Northern Hemisphere spring (with an 80% chance during March-May 2024)." 

Here is a link to a source for a better understanding of El Niño.  If you need some help with this, give this a read and you will learn a lot about this important weather phenomenon. It has more effect upon the Northern Latitudes than it has upon us. 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 that Panama will have a normal to above normal probability of precipitation during the months of November-December-January 2024 (light green).

ETESA's hydrology and meteorology section reports that the predicted rainfall in October was not in keeping with what actually occurred. October's rainfall was less than predicted in the eastern part of the country but greater than predicted in the Western part of the country. They are predicting that Panama will have differing amounts of rain in the Western, Caribbean and Eastern parts of Panama. You can read their report and check out the details in the "documents" section at this link.

We moved permanently to our Boquete property in Palmira Arriba in October of 2005.  We lived in a small bodega building (now my shop) while our main house was built by Antonio Basil's crew.  It was a very rainy month and it was a serious introduction to the Boquete Rainy Season weather. I recall having doubts about our decision to retire to this area of the world because of the excessive rain.  We survived and now expect October to be rainy. We no longer weep when it rains but smile knowing it brings the natural beauty of this green Paradise.

November is usually a transition month with a mix of rainy and sunny days as we gradually move into the dry season.  We will get some rain, but often less than we get in October. Have the umbrellas ready for both rain and shine. 

Lloyd Cripe

lcripe@boqueteweather.com