"Dry" Season Around the Corner
The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) - the weatherman - announced yesterday that the "dry" season will officially begin by the third week in November and that the transition period has already begun with cold winds and scattered showers.

Typically the change over of the wet to dry season is characterized by alternating days of sunshine and heavy rain.

One day can be extremely dry and hot, followed by the next day of cloudy and medium to heavy rain falls. A cold wind bringing a chill in the night air is also another indicator.

This morning (Friday), San José woke up to a cold 17C (62F) and cloudys kies. But by mid morning the temperature is expected to climb to the normal of 28C (82F) and sunshine is expected, which will mean it will rain tomorrow.

The IMN says that the dry season will commence in the Guanacaste area within 15 days and by month's end in the Central Valley (San José).

The Central Pacific region (Jacó and Quepos) could see the delay of the dry season until the first week in December, the IMN says, and the dry season is expected by early January in the South Pacific region (Golfito and Paso Canoas).

In the Caribbean and northern zone, the transition is more variable as the traditional December-January rains will return after several weeks of "dry" in November and then resume in February.

For the next couple of weeks it is best to keep an umbrella handy, as the weather can quickly turn from a bright sunny day to a downpour and then back to sunny in a matter of hours.