Skip down to today’s detailed weather and forecasts for each region of Costa Rica. Click or tap a symbol on the weather map for rainfall, clouds, wind, temperature and humidity. More stations will appear if you zoom in on a region.
General Costa Rica Weather Trends
Costa Rica’s rainy season ended right on schedule at the end of December 2016 and the first four months of 2017 were predictably dry, However, the rainy season arrived with a bang in May 2017. By the end of May 2017 many central and low lying Pacific regions were under flood and mudslide watches as waves of low pressure systems moved in from the Caribbean bringing heavy rainfall.
The most recent predictions by NOAA show that most likely there will be no El Niño or La Niña in the foreseeable future – this is the condition known as La Nada.
Starting in October tropical lows in the Caribbean pounded the Pacific with rain and Tropical Storm Nate caused massive damage and loss of life (how do Caribbean storms affect the Pacific side in Costa Rica?). Heading into November it looks like there will be little relief.
Current Costa Rica Weather Maps and Predictions
The data for the weather map (and in fact all online weather maps and forecasts for Costa Rica) is pulled from a network of automated remote sensing weather stations.
If something seems a bit weird it probably is. When looking at the raw data feed I can see that some stations sometimes only update every 24 hours instead of hourly and sometimes they get stuck on the same value for a week or more. If you’re sitting in Alajuela looking out the window and it’s sunny but the map shows rain this is probably why.
One more note about the current weather map. Several people have pointed out the there is a station way up by the Nicaraguan border named San Jose and asked us to fix this mistake. It’s not a mistake, the station is located in the tiny community of San Jose de Upala.
Costa Rica Weather Forecasts
The weather forecasts at the bottom are for the three general climate regions – The mountains and central valley (San Jose), Guancaste and the Nicoya Peninsula, and Limon and the Caribbean side. Longer range weather patterns are available on the pages showing typical conditions for any month of the year in Costa Rica.
We’ve also created nifty maps that show historical rainfall, high and low temperatures and average local hours of sunshine data by month for every region. These resources are helpful in planning the best time to visit Costa Rica.
If you’re really interested in the weather in Costa Rica we’ve worked out some instructions for creating your own weather forecast (often better than the automated ones) and a detailed graphical description of how the climate in Costa Rica is affected by global heating, wind and ocean currents.