Global and Local Winds in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is located at 10 degrees North, 84 degrees West (maps of the world). This means that Costa Rica is located in the North-western hemisphere. Costa Rica lies smack in the middle of the Hadley Cell and resides in the trade wind belt. The trade winds travel towards the equator because of the Coriolis. This region also lies close to the Westerlies, which travel toward the poles. Because Costa Rica is in the Hadley Cell, the wind direction blows from the North-east. As the air rises at the equator, it travels north causing the air to subside in the Horse Latitudes. Costa Rica is located almost exactly between a low pressure belt, the Equatorial low, and a high pressure belt, the Subtropical high.  The Equatorial low is also known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone and is rising moist, hot air with a lot of precipitation. Costa Rica lies right in the zone that receives a lot of precipitable water. Lastly, because of its location in the Hadley Cell, Costa Rica lies close to the Doldrums; this is where the trade winds meet.

Due to Costa Rica's location, with regards to the major cell, wind belts and pressure belts, one can see the climate is subtropical-tropical and the weather is mostly fair during the dry season and experiences some precipitation during the wet season. Being located so close to the Equatorial low, which is near the equator, one can imagine Costa Rica can be very warm-hot and humid. This humidity is also due to the Equatorial low and the rising moist, hot air in this region. Costa Rica is located in a interesting region, though, because they are also very close to the Subtropical highs, which is where the westerlies and the trade winds originate. As previously stated, the winds blow from the North-east, meaning the wind blows leeward. Costa Rica is far from the poles and the polar front, which is why this region does not typically experience temperatures lower than 65 degrees F.

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Costa Rica has five mountain ranges: Central Mountain Range, Talamanca Mountain Range, Tilaran Mountain Range, Guanacaste Mountain Range and Escazu Hills(ranges). Five types of breezes or winds that are associated with mountains are: Valley breezes, Mountain breezes, Chinook winds, Katabatic winds and Foehn winds. Costa Rica experiences both Valley and Mountain breezes. Valley Breezes occur during the daytime in Costa Rica. This is when the sun warms the valley walls during the day. Mountain Breezes occur at night in Costa Rica. This is when there is radiation cooling of the valley walls. The heat is quickly lost from the valley walls and the cool air flows downward. Costa Rica lies of the coast of the Pacific Ocean and of the Caribbean Sea. There are two types of breezes associated with coastlines: Land and Sea Breezes. Costa Rica experiences land breezes at night when the land cools more quickly than the water, which causes higher pressure to be located over the land. Costa Rica experiences sea breezes during the day when the land heats more quickly than the ocean, which causes higher pressure to be located over the ocean.