The Weather in Playas del Coco

Friday, February 15

Well, I'll start with the weather report for today, February 15, 2013:

Sunny and HOT (high of 95 today, with a range of 91 to 97 predicted for the next 5 days).

This is pretty much the weather we have had since we arrived on January 29th. According to one weather report, the next four days should be cloudy. But based on what we have seen so far, "cloudy" means there are a few scattered clouds in the sky now and then, in the afternoon.

Shadow on pavement hot enough to fry an egg. (Photo by Connie)

 

Basically, The weather in El Coco is hot, dry, and mostly blue-skied from December to May, which is the "dry season." This same weather pattern applies to most of Guanacaste Provence, which is the Northwest part of the country, including the northern third of the Pacific coast.

In other parts of Costa Rica, it does rain in the dry season - just not as much as during the rainy season (May through November). But in Guanacaste, where El Coco is located, the dry season is really DRY. The grass is brown, many trees are bare. And the dry season here lasts about a month longer than it does in other parts of Costa Rica.

But, fortunately, the humidity is low. The heat here is a dry heat. Moisture evaporates quickly. The good news is that clothes, including bathing suits and towels, dry quickly. The not-so-good news is that water evaporates quickly from bodies and it is easy to get dehydrated without realizing it.

Although humidity is low, there is, sometimes, a haze in the air. This haze is caused by smoke. Most of the smoke comes from a practice of burning grasses, undergrowth, and piles of vegetative trash. It appears that the Ticos do these controlled burns in order to prevent wildfires from spreading rapidly and getting out of control. (Water with which to fight fires is scarce.)

The antidotes to the heat here during the day are, of course, staying in the shade or taking refuge in air-conditioned places (if you can find them; not every place is air-conditioned), swimming or other water sports, taking a siesta, and, most important, drinking lots of liquids.

Shade, water sports, and plenty of liquids are antidotes for the hot El Coco sun. (Photo by Bob)

 

The delightful part of the weather here comes in the early morning, say from 5:00-9:00 am, and in the late afternoon through evening, from 5:00pm on. (Sunset comes between 5-6pm.) At these times, the place IS a tropical paradise. The temperature is ideal. Overnight temperatures are usually in the 70's but can drop into the high 60's.

As for the rainy season, we are told that from June to September, it may rain for an hour in the afternoon most days. Then, things dry off quickly. In October, the rain could come daily and in torrential downpours. I was told that last October they expected three continuous weeks of heavy rain, and what they actually got was four days. During the rainy season the deciduous trees put out leaves, everything looks green and lush, and the flowers bloom even more profusely than they do now.

Bougainvillea blossoms, February, Playas del Coco, Costa Rica. (Photo by Connie)

 

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