Some of the best weather on the planet
Costa Rica weather is made up of two main seasons, the wet season and the dry season. The dry season runs from January to May, whereas the wet season runs from May to December. Navigation on local roads during the wet season is often risky, due to flooding and washed out roads. Since most of Costa Rica's roads are not paved, the wet season definitely makes transportation difficult. Interestingly enough, the country's coldest weather is often in the dry season (Summer), as opposed to the wet season. An interesting behavior of Costa Rica's weather in the wet season is that it is usually warm and sunny in the morning, while pouring rain in the afternoon and night.
Perhaps one of the most famous weather patterns to affect Costa Rica weather is the phenomenon known as El Niño. El Niño, while not fully understood, is a weather pattern of intense precipitation which occurs every two to seven years. It is usually identified by an unusual increase in water temperature in a specific area of the Pacific Ocean. While El Niño primarily is formed in the Pacific Ocean, it literally impacts the entire world, changing weather conditions as far north as the United States, and as far south as Argentina. In the 1980s, tree frogs were shown to be decreasing in population in Costa Rico. These particular frogs were extremely sensitive to changes in rainfall, which leads many scientists to believe that El Niño was responsible for their decline.
Costa Rica Weather is interesting in the diversity it has on its two coasts. Costa Rico has two main weather regions, the Caribbean side, and the Pacific side. These two regions, although somewhat close together, have very different weather patterns. On the Pacific side of Costa Rica, the wet season begins in May and runs until November. However, on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, the wet season begins in April, and runs until December. The Caribbean side of Costa Rica receives occasional storms during the rainy season- called "temporales del Atlantico". These storms are most common between September and February, and are considered major storms. On the Pacific side of Costa Rica, high winds prevail, and sometimes reach speeds of up to 90 km/hr in the lowlands. These high winds are responsible for bringing moisture into the Tilarán mountain range, which is the home of the beautiful cloud forest ecosystem.
Costa Rica's mountain systems are primarily cooler than the rest of the country, with temperatures ranging from freezing cold to slightly cool. The mountains contain a diverse weather system, primarily fed with precipitation by the high winds of the area. Lush, green mountains are often topped with snow during the dry season. Travel into the mountain areas is usually clear, except in the wet season, which tends to complicate navigation. Costa Rica Weather can be interesting at times, with only a hundred miles separating tropical and freezing temperatures. As always, it is best to retrieve the most current travel information when planning a trip in Costa Rica.
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