Hurricanes in Costa Rica
Hurricanes occur rarely in Costa Rica. On average, they happen about once per year. The hardest hit region is Guanacaste.The hurricane season usually lasts from early June to late November.
The most severe hurricane to make landfall in Costa Rica in the past 12 months was »Bonnie«. It reached a wind speed of up to 65 km/h on July 2, 2022 at 6:00 am local time near La Cruz and was 9 kilometers in diameter at the time. According to the internationally accepted Saffir-Simpson classification, this corresponded to a tropical storm hurricane. On the open sea, speeds of up to 185 km/h were measured (category 3).
Other natural hazards in Costa Rica:
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Current satellite image of the North Atlantic
23.03.2023 © CIMSS University of Wisconsin-Madison
Most violent hurricanes in Costa Rica since 2018
Lisa: October 27 to November 5, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 130 km/h
Diameter:
max. 370 km
Air pressure:
below 988 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The hurricane did not make direct landfall. On November 1st, 2022 at 3:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 718 km northwest of Los Chiles in Alajuela.
Julia: October 2-10, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 139 km/h
Diameter:
max. 333 km
Air pressure:
below 982 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 1
The hurricane did not make direct landfall. On October 8th, 2022 at 9:00 pm it had the shortest distance at about 271 km northwest of Roxana in Limón.
Ian: September 19 to October 2, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 250 km/h
Diameter:
max. 1482 km
Air pressure:
below 937 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 4
The hurricane did not make direct landfall. On September 25th, 2022 at 6:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 691 km northwest of Matina in Limón.
Bonnie: June 22 to July 9, 2022
Region:
Caribbean Sea
Wind speed:
max. 185 km/h
on land:
max. 65 km/h
Diameter:
max. 370 km
Air pressure:
below 964 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
category 3
Affected regions
Guanacaste
Guanacaste
Celia: June 13-28, 2022
Wind speed:
max. 102 km/h
Diameter:
max. 222 km
Air pressure:
below 993 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The hurricane did not make direct landfall. On June 14th, 2022 at 12:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 331 km northeast of La Cruz in Guanacaste.
Terry: November 2-10, 2021
Wind speed:
max. 65 km/h
Diameter:
max. 296 km
Air pressure:
below 1006 mbar
Saffir-Simpson scale:
tropical storm
The hurricane did not make direct landfall. On November 4th, 2021 at 3:00 am it had the shortest distance at about 429 km east of S in Guanacaste.
These evaluations are based on data from the National Centers for Environmental Information of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Individual data have been summarized or translated.
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