It’s been a week and not a drop of rain in the Central Valley and Pacific coast, the dry season conditions caused by a high-pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean.
But don’t put away the galoshes just yet, typical October rains will be back by the weekend.
The forecast by the national weather service, the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) is afternoon downpours, with accumulations of between 20 and 30 liters per square meter, preceded by sunny and hot mornings.
Meteorologist Daniel Poleo Brito explained, “Today and tomorrow (Thursday and Friday), the rainy conditions in the coastal Caribbean and the northern zone will decrease and intensify the rains in sectors such as the Pacific and the Central Valley over the weekend.”
The rainy season typically is from mid-May to Mid-November. Even in the rainy season, days often start sunny, with rain falling in the afternoon and evening.
The ‘fleeting summer’ (verano fugaz in Spanish) was caused by the presence of a high-pressure system in the Atlantic Ocean. This system, in turn, caused an increase of the trade winds. “As a result, the convergence zone moves further south,” said Poleo, adding that the situation will be reversed in order to return to the rainy season conditions.
The good news is the lack of any special weather phenomenon headed our way, according to the latest information by the IMN.
IMN calls on the population not let the guard down. People living in risky areas should be on alert, as the soils are still saturated with water after tropical storm Nate, whose indirect influence caused destruction and death throughout the country, except in Limón.
Nate was the last weather phenomenon that affected the country between October 4 and 5, responsible for 12 deaths and more than ¢11 billion colones in infrastructure damage costs.
Nate’s torrential rains triggered mudslides and filled already rising rivers and streams to critical levels. Floods and mudslides were widespread, with Costa Rica and Nicaragua enduring the worst and deadliest impacts.
This phenomenon formed as a tropical depression only 280 kilometers northwest of Limón. remaining stationary for two days and quickly transformed from a low-pressure system to a tropical depression, with winds of between 60 and 70 km/h.
Also not to forget, last November Costa Rica experienced its first ever landfall of a hurricane – Hurricane Otto – in the last days of the traditional end to the rainy season.
People living in areas prone to flooding and landslides should pay particular attention to the reports by the IMN or the National Emergency Commission (CNE).
