Erratic weather due to La Niña

The capital and other parts of the interior have not escaped the persistent rains that are worrying producers in the central provinces and Chiriqui, whose crops are in danger because of the ever changing weather.

Cesar Osorio of the Forecast Weather Analysis of the Electricity Transmission Enterprise ETESA (Empresa de Transmisión Eléctrica), said that the strong winds, combined with La Niña phenomenon had made matters worse by bringing heavy rains in the process.

The meteorologist explained that the strong winds that affected the provinces of Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro were the product of a cold front that came from Canada and the United States, where the winter has been particularly brutal.

The winds managed to cross the central mountain range of the country provoking serious damages in the highlands of Chiriqui, especially in the areas of Boquete, Gualaca and Volcan.

However, according to the scientist it is unlikely that the pattern would repeat in the near future, because the winter in the northern hemisphere is coming to an end.

Talking about the heavy rains Osorio pointed out that the region of Bocas del Toro to Colon are in the Caribbean region and that is why it rains all year round, which combined with the winds made matters worse.

With regards to the rains in the capital city, Osorio said that they are the product of a low pressure system that normally stays around the Darien province, but due to the winds it had blown towards the continent, causing rains in the middle of the dry season.

A possibility exist that the climate changesis also affecting weather behavior and temperature is rising by almost a degree, but the scientist added that nobody knows if this is due to global warming or part of a normal weather pattern.

Osorio said that last year ETESA announced that 2009 was going to be a year without a dry season and that the rains will continue until the start of the wet season in June as a result of La Niña, which normally brings heavy rains.

He forecast that a strong possibility exists of having tropical storms in Panama for the next few months and in the Caribbean it is likely that hurricanes will develop.

Osorio clarified that does not mean that hurricanes are going to touch Panama, but that the rains are going to be heavier than usual.

he concluded by saying that strong winds and heavy rains will continue and it is too early to say for how long La Niña will continue to affect Panama.