Q COSTA RICA – Wind gusts of up to 100 km/h associated with a cold front gripping the country are responsible for the fall of at least 17 trees and damage to homes in areas such as Heredia centre, San Isidro (Heredia), Cartago, Pacayas, Turrialba, Guápiles, El Guarco, Alvarado, Alajuela, Matina, Puntarenas, Coronado, Goicoechea, San Carlos, San Isidro, Pococí and Limón.
The Cuerpo de Bomberos (Fire Department) have been busy since Sunday afternoon attending emergencies.
Despite the conditions, no persons have been reported injured, says the Cruz Roja (Red Cross).
The national parks Poás and Rincón de la Vieja volcanoes are closed due the strong winds and falling of branches.
With the winds and cold are some rains causing floods in Matina and Pococi in the province of Limon; Puntarenas; Paraíso and Talamanca, in Cartago, according to the Comision Nacional de Emergencies (CNE) – national emergency commission.
Transit on some routes has also been affected, such as the Ruta 32 (San Jose – Limon) closed due to a landslide and Ruta 141 that connects Zarcero with Cuidad Quesada de San Carlos. Click here for the latest road conditions.
A fallen tree near the “platina” bridge on the autopista General Cañas (San Jose – Alajuela) disrupted morning traffic for several minutes, around 9:00am.
The weather phenomenon is expected to cause rains and winds in the Caribbean area where there are major downpours, while in the Central Valley, showers will be intermittent, especially in mountainous areas, on Monday and Tuesday.
The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) – national weather service – says the cold front is expected to continue until Wednesday morning, after which weather conditions will normalize.
The cold front caused the thermometer to dip between 2 and 3 degrees Celsius from the normal highs of a typical January.
On the seas, the Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (Center for Marine and Limnological Sciences Research) warns of the acceleration of the wind generating choppy seas in the Caribbean and in the North Pacific.
