March 3, 2026

No.203

February 2026
(Back Issues Here)

We had 0.56 inches of rain at the Palmira Arriba Station during the month of February 2026.

Rainfall for February 2026
Area	Contributors	February2026	Total 2026
El Salto Arriba	Beth Corwin	0.10	0.27
Bajo Lino	Rodrigo Marciacq	n/a	n/a
Los Cabazos	Don Hughes	0.56	1.73
Jaramillo Arriba	Steve Sarner	n/a	n/a
Jaramillo Arriba	Mark Heyer	n/a	n/a
Jaramillo Alto	Steve White	5.91	n/a
Jaramillo Central	Colleen Anderson	n/a	n/a
Jaramillo Abajo	John McGann	2.98	3.32
Palo Alto	Nancy Pettersen	21.30	27.79
Valle Escondido	Gisela Remsen	1.62	0.82
Brisas  Boquetenas	Dennis Decorte	2.0	2.14
Brisas Boquetenas	Richard Sturz	3.42	3.42
Cerro Verde (Volcancito)	Charlotte Lintz	1.58	1.95
Caldera	Chris McCall	0.12	0.12
Lucero	Mike Joy	0.24	0.32
Palmira Abajo	Dave Nichols	0.25	0.27
Palmira Arriba	Lloyd Cripe	0.56	0.63
N/A = Not Available Red = Highest rainfalls Green = Lowest rainfall

Checking the past data from the Palmira Arriba Station over a span of 20 years, the average rainfall for the months of February is 0.9 inches. A bit less than an inch.  The range is a low of 0.00 inches to a high of 4.96 inches. This month's 0.56 inches at the Palmira Arriba Station is -0.27 standard deviations below the mean.  So it is less than a standard deviation below normal.  Given the small numbers, this is essentially within the average for the month.  We had a low but statistically normal rainfall in the month of February. The weather is Dry and Windy but is to be expected. 

Palmira Arriba Station Average February Rainfalls over 20 Years

At the Palmira Arriba Station we had 7 days with measureable light precipitation and 21 days without any precipitation.  Our total rain for the year 2026 is now 0.63 inches, just over a half inch. Keep in mind that the average rain in February over 20 years of observation is slightly under 1 inch.

The average winds in February 2026 at the Palmira Arriba station was 8.81 mph and generally from the NE.  Our maximum wind gust was 31.64 mph.  Average temperature was 67.60 degrees F.  The Highest temperature was 83.1 degrees F.  The lowest temperature was 61.30 degrees F.  You can check all the previous data for the months of February at this climate link.

Note in the Rainfall Table above that Nancy Peterson in the Palo Alto area reported the most rainfall in the Boquete District with 21.30 inches of rain.  She reported that with a lot of wind came a lot of Bajareque moisture.  This pattern is typical with little to no rain in the souther part of the district and lots of mist in the northern part.  Nancy has a natural moisture misting that helps keep their beautiful garden green and vibrant. Note that Mike Joy at Lucero reported only 0.24 inches and Chris McCall at Caldera repoted only 0.12 inches of rain. During the Rainy Season Lucero is often one of highest rainfall areas.

The latest ENSO Cycle Report is saying that "La Niña is present. Equatorial sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are below-average in the eastcentral Pacific Ocean. Atmospheric anomalies over the tropical Pacific Ocean are consistent with La Niña. A transition from La Niña to ENSO-neutral is expected in February-April 2026 (60% chance), with ENSO-neutral likely persisting through the Northern Hemisphere summer (56% chance in June-August 2026)."

The IRI (International Research Institute for Climate and Society) (select South America from the Region menu) is predicting a 40% probability of below normal precipitation in Panama during the months of March - April - May 2026 )Yellow areas).

IMHPA (Instituto de Meteorología e Hidrología de Panamá) documents section predicts that during March "...The following map shows the expected accumulated rainfall forecast for March 2026. The color scale represents the expected rainfall values ​​for the forecast period in millimeters (mm) or liters per square meter. It is expected that accumulated rainfall for this month will be above normal in some areas of the Ngäbe Bugle Comarca, while for the rest of the country, typical rainfall for the month is expected."  You can read their entire report and check out the details in the "documents" section at this link.

Early this morning a lunar eclipse was viewable here in Boquete, Panama. Here are the published times  published for the event:

I watched it for about an hour starting at 5:15.  At 6:08 I took this photo with my digiscope setup. Lunar eclipses occur when the earth aligns in-between the sun and the moon.  During totality the moon dramatically changes colors and looks orange/red.  Our totality wasn't in the path of a perfect alignment but once the light of the sun was blocked the moon did change color.  The wind was blowing which interferes with a high resolution of the moons details but the colors were visible.  Although these only occur occasionally in a lifetime, it is always special fun to see them.

It is definitely the Dry Season with little rain and lots of wind.  We will probably have another month of this type of weather, but let's hope we get some rain to settle the dust from all the road construction going on in the Boquete area.  March is usually a good month to hike up to the top of Volcan Baru to see the southern view to the Pacific Ocean and the northern view of the cloud cover over the Caribbean side.  Be careful that your umbrella doesn't get turned wrong side out.  In fact, it is best to leave the useless thing at home!