The month of May in Costa Rica closed with a surplus of rainfall, exceeding the predictions of the National Meteorology Institute, the number of lighting strikes doubled the number of 2016.

In the past weeks the country has registered seven tropical waves which generated heavy rainfall and thunder storms that caused floods and landslides in different areas of the country.
May registered a record of lightning strikes with a total of 295 thousand lighting strikes, which exceeds the 143 thousand that struck last year and that had already gone way over the average of 58,000 registered in this month since 2004, according to information provided by the Costa Rica Electricity Institute (ICE). The number of lightning strikes in May of 2017 also broke other records, with 110 thousand strikes in just one week (May 15-21), and 30 thousand discharges in just one day (May 19).

The total lighting strikes from January through May 31st is of 443 thousand; La Guácima, Orotina, Quepos, Golfito and Nicoya are the five locations in Costa Rica where there are more electric discharges. 2014 is the year that registered the biggest number of lightning strikes in the country with 1 million.

Experts consider that the number of lightning strikes will go down in June, but remind the population to take the necessary precautions during a thunder storm: find a safe place to wait until the thunderstorm passes (inside your home, office, or car); never stand under a tree during a thunderstorm, unplug electric appliances and do not use landline telephones.