Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Precipitation, Climate, and Cloud Forests of Costa Rica

Although Costa Rica is an unequivocally tropical country, it can be divided into several climate zones. Costa Rica has no real summer or winter periods due to its close proximity to the equator. The climate here is classically divided into two major seasons—rainy and dry. However, while some regions of the country are moist and rainy most of the year, other regions may be dry and shiny for the majority of the year. It exclusively depends on the region’s unique characteristics.

Rainy Season in Monteverde
http://www.horizonpacificvacations.com/blog/costa-rica-activities/reasons-to-travel-to-costa-rica-in-the-spring-season/

During rainy reason, the heavy rainfalls drowned the roads and made it barely walk-able.
http://www.costaricapages.com/blog/travel/rainfall-record-breaking/1552
Beautiful Costa Rica during dry season
http://www.homeandlandfinders.com/costa_rica_main.html

The rainy season, also called “green season”, is the winter in Costa Rica and spans from May to November. The dry season takes up the rest of year; it runs from December through May. However, the length of dry season can vary by region. In lowlands regions like Guanacaste, the climate is hot and dry and dry season lasts several weeks longer. In Central Pacific, the climate is hot and humid. But in highlands areas like Central Highlands and Central Valley, the climate is usually mild and cool. These regions have cloud forests rather than dry or rain forests.  Generally, the higher you go the more rain there will be and the cooler the temperatures may be.
The areas colored in green are the lowlands regions, where the climate is dry and hot.
The central part where the color is orange and yellowish are the midlands and highlands
regions. There are more rainfalls and the climate is cooler.


A cloud forest, also called a “fog forest” or “mossy forest”, is a generally tropical, evergreen, and moist forest characterized by a persistent low-level cloud cover. The frequent cloud cover results in a high annual precipitation and moist temperature. Within cloud forests, much of the precipitation is in the form of fog drip, where fog condenses on tree leaves and the drips onto the group. The annual rainfall can range from 500 to 10,000 mm/year and temperature between 8 to 20°C. Cloud forests are distinctive biological as well. There are more unique species of plants and animals found in such forests than other locations.
Cloud Forests in Costa Rica

A cover of clouds hovering in the forests

The best time to travel to Costa Rica is December through April where there are mostly sunny skies and rain-free days!
 
April in Costa Rica. It is one of the driest months of the year and one of the best times to travel to Costa Rica.


The sunny and mellow weather during the dry season.


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