Costa Rica weather
Loading live data…Latest for Costa Rica: European (ECMWF): 75° Light drizzle · American (NOAA GFS): 75° Overcast · German (DWD ICON): 77° Light rain.
The weather map: all three models at once
European, American, German side by side around Costa Rica and nearby towns.Live rain radar →Hourly forecast: next 14 hours
consensus of the three modelsRain in the next 24 hours, model by model
each model's own hourly precipitation, side by sideLoading the three models…
10-day forecast, out to 14 days
where the models agree, and where they splitHeading to Costa Rica? Costa Rica, Costa Rica, sits at 10.3°N in a tropical climate zone. The averages on this page are measured at Guanacaste (Tamarindo), the main gateway for US travellers; inland and mountain areas run cooler. Before you lock in outdoor plans, compare how the three global models - European (ECMWF), American (GFS) and German (ICON) - forecast Costa Rica right now. Where they agree you can trust it; the days they split are exactly when a single weather app is least reliable. For a beach trip the rain and wind columns below matter most - that is what makes or breaks a day by the sea.
Where to go in Costa Rica
We cover 2 destinations in Costa Rica, each with its own live three-model comparison and long-run averages. The table shows the typical daytime high in January and July and the wettest month, so you can see how much the coast, the cities and the islands differ before you pick dates.
Best time to visit Costa Rica
The most comfortable time to visit Costa Rica is usually January, February, May and June, when daytime highs sit in the pleasant 75-92°F range and the heaviest September rain is behind you.
Costa Rica weather by month
what to expect in Costa Rica through the year, 1991-2020 averagesHere is Costa Rica's typical weather in each month: the average daytime high and overnight low in °F, how each month feels, and the wettest month marked. Use it to plan any trip to Costa Rica by season.
Costa Rica compared with New York City
30-year averages: daytime highs month by month, rain and sunlightWarmer through the year
average daytime high: Costa Rica 88°F, New York City 63°F
Rain over a year
Costa Rica 70 in, New York City 50 in
Sunlight vs a clear sky
solar energy reaching the ground as a share of a cloudless day, averaged over the year (not sunshine hours)
On 30-year averages Costa Rica runs 25°F warmer than New York City, with every month between +2°F and +50°F. Over a year it gets 40% more rain than New York City.
Month by month in numbers
| Month | Costa Rica | New York City | Difference | Sunlight, Costa Rica | Sunlight, New York City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 90°F | 40°F | +50°F | 87% | 68% |
| February | 92°F | 42°F | +50°F | 90% | 71% |
| March | 93°F | 50°F | +43°F | 91% | 69% |
| April | 93°F | 62°F | +31°F | 85% | 71% |
| May | 90°F | 71°F | +19°F | 72% | 70% |
| June | 85°F | 80°F | +5°F | 70% | 76% |
| July | 87°F | 85°F | +2°F | 70% | 80% |
| August | 86°F | 83°F | +3°F | 70% | 78% |
| September | 85°F | 76°F | +9°F | 70% | 76% |
| October | 84°F | 65°F | +19°F | 67% | 71% |
| November | 84°F | 54°F | +30°F | 74% | 72% |
| December | 88°F | 44°F | +44°F | 82% | 66% |
Daytime highs and lows on this page are 1991-2020 averages. Costa Rica: no weather station within 30 km at a similar height, so lows are ERA5 point values for 2023-2024, corrected month by month by NASA POWER's difference between those two years and 1991-2020, and highs are the uncorrected ERA5 values, which tested closer to station normals; rain is the CHELSA 1981-2010 climatology on a 1 km grid. New York City: station normals from New York Central Park (WMO), rain included. Sunlight vs a clear sky is NASA POWER's long-term average of the solar energy reaching the ground as a share of a cloudless day; it compares cloudiness and is not a count of sunshine hours. New York City stands in for the US here; other cities have their own climate tables.