2011 Weather in Review

Windbreaks constructed in December to protect the vegetable garden

RAINFALL
I am continually amazed by the amount of rainfall we receive here. The total for the year was 129.9 inches. The average annual rainfall recorded at a weather station only about three miles away is 90 inches. So we got 40 inches above the normal. WOW!

We are not experiencing either an El Niño nor a La Niña, so the rainfall and temperatures should be about average. The two factors that could conceivably account for the high rainfall are either yearly variability or very localized weather conditions. It could be a combination of both factors, but I'm guessing it's more the effects of the localized weather. Time will tell.

Monthly rainfall (in inches)
  January           6.8
  February         6.1
  March            3.7
  April              4.5
  May             18.1
  June             10.9
  July              15.5
  August           6.0
  September   11.1
  October       33.3
  November     7.7
  December      6.2

   TOTAL      129.9

The distribution of rainfall by month for 2011 seems about right. The dry season (or summer, as it is called here) usually begins in December and lasts through April. The rainy season (or winter, as it is called here) usually begins in May and lasts through November. The only month that did not fit this pattern this year was August.

TEMPERATURES
It felt warmer this year, and the data bears this out. Comparing the last five months of 2010 (when I began keeping data) with the last five of 2011, every month was warmer in 2011, one month even seven degrees warmer, farenheit.

Temperatures by month
                  Ave. high  Ave. low
  January          77.6      60.5
  February       76.6      58.1
  March           78.2      58.1
  April             78.7      60.3
  May              78.0      62.1
  June              78.0      63.1
  July               78.3      63.5
  August          80.0      64.3
  September    79.6      63.8
  October        75.4      63.1
  November     77.2      61.3
  December     74.4      59.7

WIND, HUMIDITY, AND BAROMETRIC PRESSURE
I do not yet have the instruments to measure humidity or barometric pressure. During the dry season, the trade winds are blowing over the top of the Cordillera Central. We are located just a few miles from the top of this mountain range, on the leeward side. These cross-mountain winds keep the temperatures moderate, and the humidity down for much of the year.

For wind velocity, I have a hand-held anemometer. As this is the first really windy place I have lived, I've been interesting in measuring the maximum wind velocity. The windy season corresponds roughly with the dry season, and the trade winds are the dominating force. The winds generally begin in November, a month before the dry season begins, and blow until March, ending a month before the wet season begins, in May.
The maximum recorded wind gust was 34 miles per hour, which occurred in February.

Happy gardening!