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I just came back form my 5th visit to CR and the first time I have been there in March. I have visited the San Ramon area in February before and it was still quite lush and green then. This time, in March, I was surprised at how dry and baked everything looked compared to my previous 4 visits. Is this pretty much normal for the end of the dry season or have you had a particularly extreme dry season this year? Here in southern Florida we have been having extremes in weather for what seems like the last several years. Perhaps this is global climate change in CR?
I can’t speak for the conditions in San Ramon, but in our little corner of Grecia this “dry” season has been wetter than last year, by a long shot. We had not one drop of rain from December of 2006 until late April of 2007. This February we had a good soaking and this month we’ve had two.
I may well be reflecting upon very, very localized conditions.
I noted it was also very dry around Bajo Rodriguez and northward but then I also saw the Arenal area quite green in comparison. I suspect it might be a combination of localized dryer weather and my lack of experience in country at the end of dry season.
According to AM Costa Rica, 2008 will be another wet year with rainfall from 15 to 30 percent above normal in some sections of the country. In addition, the nation will be at the mercy of the backlash from seven hurricanes and six tropical storms.
That’s the official prediction of the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional, which also says that the rainy season will arrive about two weeks early because of the La Niña weather phenomenon in the Pacific.
According to Wagner Stolz, forecasting chief of the weather institute, the usually drier north Pacific coast in Guanacaste will see 30 percent more rain than normal this year, an estimated 590 mm., about 23 inches more.
The rainy central Pacific coast will live up to its reputation with rainfall 25 percent more than normal, said Stolz. The estimated extra downfall will be 900 mm. or about 35 inches greater than normal.
Rainfall for the southern Pacific is predicted to be about 15 percent above normal at an estimated 550 mm. or 21 inches above normal.
The average rainfall is based on accumulations of the last 30 to 40 years, said the weather institute.
In the Central Valley, including San José, Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago, the prediction is for about 20 percent more rain or some 550 mm. (21 inches) of extra rain. Stolz noted that 2007 was a wet year, too, with rainfall accumulations higher than normal.
The Caribbean coast and the northern zone are expected to have about a normal or slightly above normal amount of rainfall. This is the area that is suffering now from an unexpected dry spell. In January, the areas were 30 percent below normal and in February they were 40 percent below normal, said the weather institute. Both areas usually get more rain during the periods from December to April when the rest of the country experiences the so-called dry season.
Well here is a question about the green season. What are the typical green season conditions in areas such as Atenas, Orotino and Puriscal? I have heard that for most of the season, it rains in the afternoon – generally. Then for one or two months, it can just rain all the time. Would these months generally be October and November?
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