| November 4, 2011 | No. 45 |
October 2011
I posted the October weather data for the Palmira Weather Station. We had a total of 45.92 inches of rain in October at the Palmira Station. Terry Zach in El Santuario reported 27.1 inches of rain. Sela Burkholder in Jaramillo Abajo reports 42.38 inches. Craig Bennett reports 27.67 inches in Los Naranjos. Here is the list from most to least:
Rainfall for October 2011 |
||
Area |
Reporter |
Inches |
| Palmira Arriba | Lloyd Cripe | 45.92 |
| Jaramillo Abajo | Sela Burkholder | 42.38 |
| Los Naranjos | Craig Bennett | 27.67 |
| El Santuario | Terry Zach | 27.10 |
At the end of October at the Palmira Station we have a total of 170.55 inches of rain for the year. If you check the Annual Climate Data tables at the website, you can see that the total amount of rain for October varies from year to year. This year we had more rain for the month than usual. The range has previously been between 20.23 to 38.54 inches. This year exceeds previous years by about 7 inches. It certainly seemed rainy to me, but I do recall previous years with lots of October rain. When we built our house in 2005, is very rainy and dreary in October. I was amazed that the construction crew got as much done as they did in such inclement weather.
My experience has been that October is usually the rainiest coldest month and probably a good time to take a vacation to sunnier skies. We only had 2 days this October without rain of some sort. The evenings were often chilly. The average temperature for us was 60 degrees F with a minum of 53 and a maximum of 76. Fortunately we have a gas fireplace insert in our living room area. We fired it up in the evenings and it kept us comfortable. Without it, we would have been shivering or dressed like eskimos.
All of this has an adverse effect upon our coffee growing. Too much precipitation over engorges the fruit and creates conditions for the growth of fungi. Leaves can drop and fruit split open reducing production. The cool temperature slows the ripening of the fruit. Boquete coffee production will probably be adversely affected this year by the excess moisture during the month of October. We are keeping our fingers crossed that things will improve for us coffee growers.
November is usually a month of transition between the rainy and dry seasons. We should start seeing more sunny days and fewer rainy days. The first 3 days of November have been a pleasant relief and will hopefully continue.
The ENSO is now in a La Niña condition. La Niña is expected to strengthen in the Northern Hemisphere during the winter of 2011-2012. Here is the link to the latest La Niña report. Page 32 of the pdf file has a nice graphic of how La Niña effects US Temperatures, Precipitation and Jet Streams (see below). Note that our area (Centra America) is not illustrated because this is focusing upon North America. In general the tropics are less affected.
For information from the National Weather Service JetStream - Online School for Weather regarding the Weather Impacts of ENSO visit their web page.
If interested, you can monitor the status of La Niña and get weekly updates at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center at this link.
The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) is reporting with a 40 percent probability that November 2011 through January 2012 will bring an increased precipitation to our area. Here is their graphic presentation: (Note the light green in our area which predicts a 40 percent probability of increased precipitation):
We went north for nearly 6 weeks in September and October for medical care and family visits so we missed some of the October rains. Can't say that I regret it. I also missed getting out the September report but I did post the September data via remote control. I hope you have learned how to go to the Climate Section and checkout the monthly data for Boquete even if no report is forthcoming. I usually post the data the first day of the month.
Upon return to our Finca Armonia in mid October we were greeted with lots of rain and few birds at the feeder. It only took a couple days of putting out fruit before the birds were back. I tried doing a rain dance to stop the rain and part the clouds but it didn't instantly work. So I just kept dancing and smiling at the birds. Eventually when November came the clouds parted and the sun came out. This led me to believe the dancing worked and now I can't stop. I keep dancing a jig with my umbrella in hand just in case!
Lloyd Cripe