Another wet weekend. A humid, unstable pattern is parked over southern Central America, and it is going to stay there through Sunday, which means cloud, rain and afternoon thunderstorms across most of the country both days. Here is how today breaks down. The Northern Zone and the northern Caribbean opened before dawn with rain and possible thunderstorms, and both will see rain returning through the afternoon and into the night.
The Caribbean South, including Limón and Puerto Viejo, started cloudy and wet but should get a partial clearing in the afternoon before rain returns overnight. Guanacaste and the North Pacific hold partial cloud through the morning with rain near the coasts, then turn mostly overcast in the afternoon with scattered showers, and showers on the Nicoya Peninsula at night.
The Central and South Pacific, covering Quepos, Manuel Antonio, Dominical and the Osa Peninsula, are driest in the morning and wettest in the afternoon and evening, when downpours with thunderstorms are likely. Golfito and the far south get rain and thunderstorms into the night. The Central Valley is mostly overcast with rain possible, heaviest in the west.
Temperatures stay seasonal. San José reaches 24.8 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit) with a low of 19.6 (67), Cartago cooler at 23.0 (73) and 16.1 (61). Guanacaste stays hot despite the cloud, with Nicoya at 36.8 (98), Liberia 34.1 (93) and Puntarenas 33.4 (92). Limón hits 28.5 (83), Sarapiquí 28.1 (83) and Golfito 30.6 (87). Sunrise in San José was 5:22 a.m., sunset comes at 6:01 p.m.
Sunday looks much the same, and if anything slightly wetter. Moisture keeps building through the weekend, so expect the same shape of day: workable mornings, then afternoon downpours with thunder across the Central Pacific, the South Pacific, the Gulf of Nicoya and the Central Valley.
Those storms may push into Guanacaste as well. The Caribbean slope keeps its own rhythm, with rain arriving mostly overnight and in the early morning. Coastal rain is possible at night on both weekends days. Anyone hoping for a break should know that tropical wave number 22 arrives Monday, which will reinforce the rain rather than end it.
As is usual for this time of year, get the outdoor part of the day done early. Beaches, parks and travel are perfectly workable in the morning across most of the Pacific and the Central Valley. By two or three in the afternoon, assume the sky opens.
Two cautions worth taking seriously. The ground across the Northern Zone, the Caribbean and the Osa Peninsula is still saturated after the flooding earlier this month, and saturated ground does not absorb new rain well, so even a moderate downpour can produce disproportionate flooding and landslides.
Drivers in the mountains should allow extra time and watch for fog, fallen branches and standing water, particularly on Route 32, in the Cordillera de Talamanca and on the roads down to both coasts. Do not cross flooded roads or swollen rivers. Emergencies go to 911.
And if you have fishing, diving or small-boat plans, check conditions before you commit. It is going to be choppy out there.
