Costa Rica · 9.93°N 84.08°W · 30-year monthly averages, judged against the Tropical preset (highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F, any rain except monsoon)
No month in San José fits the Tropical preset (highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F, any rain except monsoon): it is too cold. The table below shows which holiday types do fit.
The monsoon season is May to November, with 232–400 mm9.1–16 in a month and a peak in October (400 mm16 in). Afternoon highs change little through the year, 24–27 °C75–81 °F, and peak in April.
The figures are 30-year monthly averages (WorldClim 2.1 monthly normals 1970–2000) for the 0.25° grid cell at 9.93, -84.08. This is a climate guide, not a forecast.
Pick the weather you like. Every month is then judged against it: temperature above the month names, rain below.
No month fits a Tropical holiday here.
Open San José on the interactive map ↗ the same verdicts for any place on Earth, in any month
Reading the chart. Gold means good: the month fits what you picked. Any other colour shows the reason it does not. The temperature bar can be too cold or too hot; the rain bar can be too dry, too rainy or monsoon. A faded gold bar means that half fits but the other half does not. A gold month name means both halves fit.
What the verdicts mean. Temperature is the month's average daily high (the afternoon), judged against the preset's band (highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F for Tropical). Rain is judged by each month's class within San José's own year, not by raw millimetres: dry under 60 mm2.4 in, showers 60–100 mm2.4–3.9 in, rainy from 100 mm3.9 in and at least 35 % of the wettest month. Too rainy is a rainy-season month that the preset does not allow. Monsoon is the heaviest kind of rainy season: 180 mm7.1 in or more (120 mm4.7 in near the yearly peak) in a climate where the wettest month has at least three times the rain of the driest. Every monsoon month is also a rainy-season month; the label says which kind. Full rules on the method page.
| Month | Rain | High | Low | Season | Tropical verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 481.9 | 2577 | 1457 | dry | too cold |
| February | 401.6 | 2678 | 1457 | dry | too cold |
| March | 481.9 | 2780 | 1559 | dry | too cold |
| April | 1124.4 | 2781 | 1660 | showers | too cold |
| May | 29612 | 2679 | 1660 | monsoon | too cold |
| June | 32813 | 2577 | 1660 | monsoon | too cold |
| July | 27211 | 2577 | 1660 | monsoon | too cold |
| August | 33613 | 2577 | 1660 | monsoon | too cold |
| September | 39215 | 2577 | 1559 | monsoon | too cold |
| October | 40016 | 2576 | 1558 | monsoon | too cold |
| November | 2329.1 | 2475 | 1559 | monsoon | too cold |
| December | 1044.1 | 2576 | 1558 | showers | too cold |
| Looking for | Rule | Months that fit |
|---|---|---|
| Warm | highs 19–28 °C66–82 °F, dry or showers | December to April |
| Tropical | highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F, any rain except monsoon | |
| Beach | highs 28–38 °C82–100 °F, dry or showers | |
| Cool | highs 3–19 °C37–66 °F, any rain except monsoon | |
| Snow | highs below 3 °C37 °F, any rain |
Yes. The monsoon season is May to November, with 232–400 mm9.1–16 in a month and a peak in October (400 mm16 in). Outside the rainy season, January to March is dry.
Afternoon highs change little through the year, 24–27 °C75–81 °F, and peak in April. Annual rainfall is about 2,608 mm103 in.
The nearest destinations that fit the Tropical preset in the months when San José does not:
The interactive map colours the whole world by how well it fits the weather you like, in any month, and shows this chart for any place you tap.