By Wendy Anders

The National Meteorological Institute (IMN, in Spanish) said gusts of up to 85 kmh (more than 50 mph) would be affecting several areas of the country including San José this week.

Mountainous areas are likely to experience the brunt of the gales, said scientists, who said that Monday’s highest winds were registered in Escazú, Ciudad Colón, and mountainous areas of the northern Guanacaste province.

A cold front that is expected to stick around until the weekend is once again the culprit for the disruption of much of Costa Rica’s generally idyllic weather.

The IMN’s Daniel Poleo said that the cold front is caused by winter conditions in the northern hemisphere. The system is not expected to bring rain, but rather lower nighttime and morning temperatures.

“From Monday to Wednesday we will have cloud cover in the northern and Caribbean mountainous areas; between Wednesday and Saturday we will have moderate trade winds, and after Saturday conditions will improve,” said Poleo.

The dry, windy conditions make for increased danger of fires to spread, therefore meteorologists appealed to Guanacaste’s residents, who often burn brush and trash, to refrain from doing any burning.

Scientists also cautioned people taking to the sea in the North Pacific and the Caribbean, especially those travelling in small crafts of under eight meters, of potentially windy conditions that can cause life-threatening sea swells.

In addition, meteorologists warned people working on towers or high up on the outside of buildings to take special care during this excessively windy week.