In this Daily: The Costa Rica Weather As We Approach September
We mentioned at the beginning of August that the latter part of the month would bring a shift in the weather, and after two weeks of sunshine we’re starting to see a few of those changes. Starting Wednesday night, there were a few longer showers that carried through until Thursday, the signs of a cool front passing through that has brought a bit of shade and and very pleasant temperatures down in the high 70s and low 80s.
It’s an adjustment to the slightly warmer temperatures of early August, with these signs of late green season conditions serving as a preview of the September weather.
The past few mornings town has been cool and misty, with temperatures dropping to the 70s overnight accompanied by some soft rains throughout the day. It’s a pronounced change from the sunny, breezy conditions that have been prominent for the first two weeks of August, and shows the smooth transition that will be taking place in Guanacaste between now and September.
The effects of the earth’s tilt on its axis is moderate in Costa Rica, which occupies between 8 and 11 degrees north of the equator. However, as the Northern Hemisphere shifts from the heart of summer towards fall there is still a noticeable (though slight) lowering of temperatures, with average high and low temperatures lowering by three or four degrees Celsius.
Within Guanacaste, the increasing rain makes this astronomical shift a little more pronounced. On a macro scale, large areas of untouched forest serve as natural traps for moisture, with trees and plants collecting rain from offshore storms or moving continental rains. This results in a surge of life as the greenery returns in May. This process continues throughout the green season, and Guanacaste becomes more and more richly saturated with water, leading to more frequent rains.
This isn’t to say that rains become more intense. Costa Rica avoids the more intense atmosphere conditions (hurricanes, monsoons, cyclones) of the northern Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, and rainfall is typically short, confined to little hour-long showers between frequent periods of sun.
In sum, town is in for some slightly cooler temperatures, a few more scattered showers throughout the day, and an even more rich and vibrant forest, with the return of the seasonal streams and waterfalls as we reach October.