| December 3, 2016 | No.93 |
November 2016
(Back Issues Here)
November brought lots of rain. The Palmira Station measured 23.64 inches of rain. Our total for the year 2016 at the end of November is 116.43 inches. On November 23, 2016 we had 5.9 inches of rain in one day thanks to the remote effects of Hurricane Otto.
Thanks again to all those who contribute their monthly rain data. Here are the totals for November of 2016 from various District of Boquete areas.
Rainfall for November 2016 |
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Area |
Contributors |
November |
Total 2016 |
El Santuario |
Terry Zach |
6.35 |
68.36 |
Jaramillo Abajo |
Sela Burkholder |
24.31 |
142.93 |
Jaramillo Arriba |
Steve Sarner |
25.17 |
162.04 |
Brisas Boquetenas |
Austin Perry |
27.30 |
201.10 |
Los Molinos |
Fred Donelson |
37.35 |
206.94 |
Los Naranjos |
Craig Bennett |
13.32 |
n/a |
Lucero (Cielo Paraiso) |
Michael Mullin |
37.78 |
213.06 |
Valle Escondido |
Wayne Beighle |
13.70 |
n/a |
Palmira Abajo |
Clyde Page |
18.76 |
n/a |
Palmira Abajo |
Betty Gray |
20.15 |
107.44 |
Palmira Arriba |
Lloyd Cripe |
23.64 |
116.43 |
n/a = not currently available but will be posted when available |
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The highest rainfall was at Lucero as measured by Michael Mullin with 37.78 inches. The lowest was at El Santuario as measured by Terry Zach at 6.35 inches. Again, we see considerable variance in rainfall within the District of Boquete.
Was the amount of rain in November more than normal? It was more than average but last year in November 2015 we actually had a bit more rain with 24.11 inches. Our average at the Palmira Station over the years is about 12 inches for November. The range is between 3.60 and 24.11 inches. Check out the graph of monthly rainfall for our station.
You probably know that we experienced the effects of some very low pressures in the Caribbean and the development of a tropical depression that evolved into Hurricane Otto. All of this brought the November rains. This hurricane developed later than normal and became larger than normal. It also came closer to Panama than usual and blasted the Colon and Panama City areas with lots of rain and resulted in several deaths. While Otto did not directly hit Panama, it eventually made landfall Thanksgiving Day in Nicaragua as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 mph. I suggest you carefully read Jeff Masters and Bob Henson's article about this storm and become aware of the changes in weather occurring in our area. The heavy rains we experienced here in later November were a part of this incredible storm.
I also recommend that your read Masters and Henson's article on this years Hurricane Season.
Here is a NASA image of Hurricane Otto just before landfall on November 24, 2016 from the above article:
The latest ENSO Cycle Report is saying that "La Niña is slightly favored to persist (~55% chance) through winter 2016-17."
The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) (select South America from the Region menu) is reporting the following precipitation predictions for December of 2016 and January-February of 2017. Note a 40% probability that our area with have slightly above average precipitation.
ETESA's, hydrology and meteorology section is predicting a strong probability that the our area will have somewhat lower precipitation during the month of December 2016. You can read their report and check out the details for December in the documents section at this link.
The election is over. I don't know about you, but I was more than ready for it to be over. Despite your take on the outcome, it is what it is. I am concerned that awareness of climate change and our need to take action will be sorely neglected. Here is some serious food for thought.
As I have mentioned a number of times over the years in the updates, the months of November and December are transition months when we gradually enter into the dry season. This morning was bright and sunny with northeastern breeze. It made me happy to be here out of the northern winter blasts. The winds will gradually increase as we progress through December. This doesn't mean that we won't get some rain this month, but it will probably be a lot less than last month. Keep your umbrellas handy and aimed the right way in the winds.
Lloyd Cripe