High Waves and Rough Seas Forecast for Costa Rica Coasts

High waves in the Caribbean and rough seas in the Pacific are anticipated by experts for this week in Costa Rica. Omar Lizano, an oceanographer at the Center for Research in Marine Sciences and Limnology (CIMAR-UCR), warns of potential dangers for beachgoers and small to medium-sized boats.

“The forecasts for this week indicate that high waves will persist in the Caribbean, reaching maximums of 3.2 meters on Thursday, which may slightly decrease towards the weekend,” Lizano informed.

Despite the expected slight decrease, the expert foresees that the high swell pattern will continue with maximums of up to 3.4 meters for the following week. “In the North Pacific, there are very strong winds with gusts between 60 km/h and 70 km/h, posing a danger for small and medium-sized vessels in this region,” stated the expert.

For the Central and South Pacific, the situation differs as CIMAR does not report such strong winds. Waves for these sectors are expected to reach up to 1.5 meters offshore. The occurrence of high waves and rough seas is attributed to the increase in winds brought by cold fronts. For instance, on Monday, the National Meteorological Institute (IMN) reported the influence of cold front No. 7.

“The cold push moves over the north of Central America, generating high atmospheric pressure values in the region,” informed the meteorologist. This leads to accelerated trade winds in the north and center of the national territory, recording speeds between 83 km/h in Guanacaste and 51 km/h in Pavas.

“From November to January, the high swell condition mainly occurs in the Caribbean area, influenced by the north winds,” explained Lizano. This year, coupled with an increase in sea level (due to the impact of El Niño), may result in flooding and erosion in some coastal sectors.

“Erosions are mostly caused by waves, but, for example, the Caribbean has not experienced very high waves. So, why is there erosion? It’s due to the increase in sea level generated by El Niño and global warming,” emphasized the specialist.