The Weather -- 1st Year of Data Collection

I began recording daily weather information on June 20, 2010. Now that I've completed one year of data collection, I can report two big surprises:
  (1) it is much rainier than I'd expected
  (2) it is much windier than I'd expected.

As for annual rainfall, I was originally expecting something in the vicinity of 80-90 inches. This was based on the data provided by the Aranjuez station in downtown San Jose, only seven miles away. Average rainfall there is 70 inches. Our property is 1,300 feet higher, in the central volcanic range, and I reasoned that we'd receive an extra 10-20 inches. Then I discovered weather data from the station in Barva, only two and a half miles away, and only about 400 feet lower elevation than here. The average annual rainfall in Barva is 90 inches. What I recorded in the first year was a whopping 145 inches.

My guess is that this higher-than-expected rainfall is due to two factors:
  (1) during this period we were experiencing a niña, which brought about 50% higher than normal rainfall
  (2) we are located near the Zurqui pass, which allows wet, stormy trade winds through the mountains from the Caribbean side of Costa Rica.

As for the winds, I didn't acquire a wind gauge until November 2010. It is a handheld device, so I only take readings when we are experiencing high winds. The high wind recorded to date is 34 miles per hour. 2009 was much windier than 2010. I'm guessing we had winds up to at least 50 mph. I wasn't expecting winds this high, as I'd been visiting my wife's family near downtown San Rafael (2.5 miles away) for the last 40 years, and knew what to expect, I thought. Again, I think the fact that we are located close to the Zurqui pass is the main contributing factor to these high winds.

The high rainfall and high winds have been two of the four complicating factors to gardening here (the other two factors are the clayey soil and the invasion of African star grass). The rain, combined with the clay, tend to waterlog the soil and cause fungal infections in root systems. This requires the use of either raised beds or drainage ditches to channel the water away from the plants. Many of the plants cannot withstand the high winds, so they have to be planted on the leeward side of walls and fences.

Happy gardening!