As the dry weather of summer draws to a close, we await the official start of the rainy season in Nicaragua (winter or invierno). The unusual weather patterns have given some parts of Nicaragua rains since January that would have won the bet for the first rain of the season.
They also ruined the bar room discussions on if the last rainfall was enough to call it the first rain of the season and the end of the dry season (summer or verano).
With the amount of greening-up going on, I think we’re in it right now. However, there will be the traditionalists who will not hear of it before May 21st.
The weather people over at INETER (The Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies) have said that “by the last week of May, the rainy season will be affecting almost all of the country with an increase in rains in June”. That’s a pretty safe bet.
This week’s forecast goes for the 21st of May; “After the last few days of sun and high temperatures, things will change on Thursday and Friday (20th/21st May) as the high pressure system weakens and the probability of rain increases over the weekend in the Caribbean, Central, North and Pacific areas of the country”.
Weather experts are predicting a “normal rainy season in Nicaragua” this year due to the presence of La Niña and with El Niño being neutral.
The El Niño weather pattern was first documented and named in the 1600’s by South American fishermen who noticed periods of warm water in the Pacific Ocean which peaked around December. They named the pattern of colder water La Niña as it was the opposite temperature change.
Also, look out for the break in the rainy season caused by a good Canicular period or “Dog days of summer” (named after Sirius, the Dog Star and biggest in the constellation Canis Major).
As a rough guide the Canicular is mid-July to mid-August, however, meteorologically speaking, it’s more like a 6 week period that encompasses those 30 days. During this time, it should rain less but that can vary year to year. A good Canicular can give certain parts of the country a very noticeable break from the rain. The Canicular is a good time to fix the roof (that you didn’t fix in the summer) and re-route the new streams running through your vegetable patch.
The water temperatures in the northern Pacific are neither cooler than normal (called La Niña) or warmer than normal (called El Niño), so they are saying it is Neutral. That might be what you MEANT to say in the paragraph above, but it is not what you DID say.
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