Costa Rica feels the chill from North America’s cold snap

Tropical Central America has been feeling the chilly outer rim of the weather phenomenon that has plunged the eastern United States and Canada into a deep freeze.

Unusually low temperatures were being recorded in the region, though nowhere near as low as in North America, of course.

Costa Rica’s capital, San José, saw the mercury plunge as low as 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts, far lower than the usual 25 degrees, according to the state meteorological service.

Two homeless men reportedly died from hypothermia in San José.

The cold front dampened the spirits of some of the travelers visiting Central America in its peak tourist period to escape the icy winter up north: many beaches were lashed by windy gusts, and the weather was overcast and rainy.

The airline Avianca cancelled several flights leaving Central America for snowed-in New York.

“The cold snap we are feeling from Guatemala to Costa Rica is a polar mass that is affecting the northeast coast of the United States. We are feeling the tail end of it,” Costa Rican state meteorologist Luis Diego Naranjo told AFP.

He said the weather pattern would continue through Sunday, after which temperatures would climb back up toward normal.