The Costa Rican National Meteorological Institute (IMN) alerted this past Wednesday for accelerated trade winds due to an increase in atmospheric pressure in the Caribbean Basin. Moderate to strong speeds are experienced, with maximums of up to 80 km/h in La Cruz, 65 km/h in Sardinal, 58 km/h in Cañas, 52 km/h in Poás Volcano, 54 km/h in Pavas and up to 68 km/h in Irazú Volcano.
Will continue
“Windy conditions will prevail throughout this week, gusts between 40-60 km/h are estimated in the Central Valley and North Pacific; while in the mountains and surrounding areas speeds between 50-85 km/h”, reported the IMN.
“In addition, this Thursday the windy pattern is expected to continue, which is also characteristic of the heatwave period this month,” he added. Just this past Monday, a phenomenon occurred in Limón which caused not only rain and lightning, but also very strong winds. As explained by the Institute,it went from gusts of 22 km/h to 83.2 km/h, as measured by the weather station located at the province’s airport.
“A strong storm developed between the cities of Sixaola and Limón, the phenomenon formed between 5 pm and 8 pm. The combination of winds and rain caused a curtain of rain that instead of falling to the ground, moved horizontally,” the institution explained.
Usually, the size of the event is less than 4 kilometers in diameter, but strong winds (up to 150 km/h) are capable of causing damage such as falling trees, branches, signs, and power lines.
Blowouts
According to data from the Fire Department, five incidents were attended for this cause in the province. In addition to power outages and roofless houses. “These horizontal gusts were due to the outflow of the cold downdraft as it struck the ground. In Spain, these phenomena are known as “blowouts”, but also as descending microbursts”, indicated the IMN.
