About the Weather in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is unequivocally
a tropical country, situated between 8° and
11° North latitude, fairly close to the equator.
Although in the mountains above 2000 meters
you get much cooler temperatures, the average
annual temperature for most of the country
lies between 21.7°C (71°F) and 27°C (81°F).
The coolest months are from November through
January, and the warmest from March through
May. San José, the capital, where over a third
of the population lives, stands at approximately
1170 meters altitude and has a mean annual
temperature of 20.6°C (69°F).
The nation's climate is classically divided
into two major seasons: rainy and dry. The
dry season runs from January through May and
the rainy season from May to November and
December.
Rainfall patterns, although seasonal, vary
greatly in intensity across geographical areas.
Some locations receive over 6 mts (18 ft)
of precipitation per year, while others receive
under 1.5 mts (4 ft). Most of the total rainfall
for any given site (about 70%) occurs on less
than 15 days of a whole year, and will often
be experienced as days of torrential downpour.
On the Caribbean slope the rainy season begins
from mid to late April and continues through
December and sometimes January. The wettest
months are July and November, with a dry spell
that occurs around August or September. Major
storms, called "temporales del Atlantico"
occasionally buffet this slope between September
and February, when it will rain continuously
for several days; but an average rainy season
day will begin clear with a few hours of sunshine
that will give way to clouds and rain by the
afternoon. In contrast, the driest months
of February and March, might be almost entirely
without rainfall.
On the Pacific slope the rainy season begins
in May and runs its course until November.
Here again, days often begin sunny and pleasant,
with rains coming later in the day. This is
a period in which the trade winds coming from
the north-east are much reduced in intensity,
and as a result storms often come in from
the Pacific Ocean in September and October.
In the northern half of the country the Pacific
slope experiences an intense dry season, in
which no rain may fall for several months.
The forests of the North-West are to a large
extent deciduous, letting their leaves fall
in order to conserve water. Winds can be very
strong, occasionally reaching speeds of 90
km/hr in the lowlands, although they average
more around 20 km/hr. The whole Central Valley,
in which the capital is situated, experiences
a mild, pleasant dry season that is matched
by moderate temperatures for most of the year,
and a lower than average amount of rainfall.
Early settlers prized the area for both its
mild climate and fertile soils. The southern
half of the Pacific slope is much wetter than
its northern counterpart, with a shorter dry
season and longer and heavier afternoon rains
in the wet season.
Written by Marc Eggar
|
|
