QCOSTARICA – Have you felt the cold? Traditionally the cold spell occurs after Christmas and into the first week of January. But this year, this 2022, the cold spell has come early.
How cold is cold?
Well, according to the national weather service, Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN), the coldest temperature recorded so far was -0.7°C (30.74°F) at the Irazú Volcano, at an altitude of 3,432 meters (11,259 feet) above sea level, on Tuesday.
The Irazú was the place with the coldest conditions on Tuesday.
Experts say this is due to the La Niña Phenomenon when the sea surface temperature across the eastern equatorial part of the central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal. And with the humidity and the arrival of the trade winds, the temperature in different areas of the country has had a downward trend.
For example, in San José, the thermal sensation on Tuesday was 11°C (51.8°F).
According to Luis Fernando Alvarado, coordinator of the IMN Climatology Unit, the cooler conditions will remain in the country until March.
The IMN is forecasting that for today, Wednesday, December 21, 2022, there is no major change in the weather conditions in Costa Rica, so good weather will predominate, though, again, it is expected that very cool temperatures will be recorded during the early morning and at night -below 17°C in the GAM and close to 12°C in the mountains.
Due to the wind, the thermal sensation in many areas could be perceived between 2°C and 3°C lower than the air temperature.