What conditions does Cloudscapes look for?

Cloud Drama Score: ≥ 75.0%. Low Clouds: ≥ 20.0%. Mid-Level Clouds: ≥ 30.0%. High Clouds: ≥ 40.0%. Visibility: ≥ 5000.0m

How often do conditions match?

There are 2 upcoming opportunity windows in the next 10 days.

More Cloudscapes in Costa Rica

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Rule Cloudscapes

Tortuguero - Cloudscapes - Costa Rica

Puerto Limón, Limón Province, Costa Rica

Multi-layered dramatic clouds for striking sky photography

Currently

Real-time conditions

Cloud Drama Score

Cloud Cover99%

Wind Gusts1.4m/s

Precipitation Chance96%

Air Pressure1007.1hPa

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in America/Costa_Rica

Next opportunity

Striking Cloud Drama at Sunrise

Tortuguero

Sat, Apr 11 · 05:00–06:00 · 1h window

Low confidence

38%

☁️Cloud Drama Score79.2%

Cloud Cover: 58%

Wind Gusts: 2.4m/s

Precipitation Chance: 85%

Air Pressure: 1008.6hPa

Dramatic Cloud Drama

Tortuguero

Wed, Apr 15 · 07:00–08:00

☁️Cloud Drama Score:85.8%

Low

What this forecast looks for

Plain-language explanation from the rule

This forecast tracks dramatic cloud conditions across Costa Rica's remarkable diversity of landscapes—from volcanic peaks to Pacific coast to pristine rainforest. We analyze cloud types, coverage patterns, and tropical atmospheric instability to predict when sky drama combines with the country's iconic natural features.

Costa Rica's position between Pacific and Caribbean, combined with volcanic peaks reaching over 3,800 meters, creates extraordinary cloud dynamics. The green season (May-November) brings afternoon convective storms and dramatic cloud buildup, while the dry season (December-April) offers clearer skies but occasionally spectacular transitions. The country's multiple microclimates mean cloud conditions can vary dramatically within short distances.

What makes Costa Rica cloudscape photography special:

Volcanic drama - Arenal, Rincón de la Vieja, and Turrialba volcanic peaks piercing cloud layers, sometimes adding volcanic steam to natural clouds
Green season storms - Afternoon convective buildups create towering cumulus and dramatic storm light over rainforest and coast
Pacific coast systems - Offshore weather approaching Tamarindo and Manuel Antonio creates layered cloud compositions over ocean
Rainforest scale - Osa Peninsula and Drake Bay's pristine wilderness under tropical cloud systems provides untouched landscape drama

Arenal Volcano provides Costa Rica's classic cloudscape composition—the symmetrical cone often partially wrapped in clouds or emerging from cloud layers, especially during green season when afternoon convection builds around the peak. Rincón de la Vieja's active volcanic features combine with cloud drama—steam vents and fumaroles adding to natural cloud formations. Tamarindo's Pacific coast works brilliantly for sunset cloudscapes when afternoon storms clear, leaving dramatic cloud remnants for golden hour. Manuel Antonio's combination of rainforest hills and Pacific creates compositions with clouds at multiple elevations. Drake Bay and Osa Peninsula offer pristine wilderness cloudscapes without human development. Green season (May-November) produces the most dramatic conditions with daily afternoon storm buildups.

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72-hour requirements breakdown

What passed or failed, hour by hour

1matching hours in the next 95 hoursJump to next match

OR logic: one branch per group is enough

Meets requirement

Misses requirement

Time America/Costa_Rica	Cloud Drama Score ≥ 75.0%	Low Clouds ≥ 20.0%	Mid-Level Clouds OR1·B1 ≥ 30.0%	High Clouds OR1·B2 ≥ 40.0%	Visibility ≥ 5000.0m
Tue, Apr 7
19:00	15%	6.2%	0%	5%	24135m
20:00	15%	9%	0%	6.6%	24134m
21:00	15%	4.5%	0.2%	31%	18301m
22:00	15%	2.4%	0%	95%	13548m
23:00	11%	0.6%	0%	100%	12496m
Wed, Apr 8
24:00	2.6%	0.4%	0%	100%	21621m
01:00	12%	13%	0.2%	99%	19695m
02:00	6.9%	23%	0%	100%	8753m
03:00	6.3%	7.5%	0%	100%	18489m
04:00	5.3%	1.5%	0%	100%	24134m
05:00	21%	0.2%	0%	100%	24135m
06:00	27%	0%	0%	100%	24134m
07:00	22%	3.8%	0%	100%	24134m
08:00	46%	0.6%	0%	61%	24134m
09:00	39%	4.3%	0%	71%	24135m
10:00	47%	18%	0%	43%	24135m
11:00	30%	21%	0%	100%	24134m
12:00	22%	15%	0%	100%	24135m
13:00	25%	25%	0%	100%	24135m
14:00	27%	4.2%	0%	91%	24134m
15:00	34%	2.9%	0%	86%	24134m
16:00	33%	3.5%	0%	100%	24135m
17:00	31%	0.4%	0%	99%	24135m
18:00	32%	0.2%	0%	100%	24135m
19:00	14%	0.8%	0%	99%	11471m
20:00	11%	2.3%	0%	98%	19558m
21:00	14%	0%	0%	89%	21848m
22:00	12%	0.9%	0%	46%	13664m
23:00	13%	0%	0%	5%	24134m
Thu, Apr 9
24:00	15%	0%	0%	11%	24134m
01:00	15%	0%	0%	100%	22190m
02:00	12%	1%	0%	100%	20961m
03:00	9.9%	0%	0%	99%	24134m
04:00	9.3%	0%	0%	66%	21604m
05:00	26%	0%	0%	100%	16625m
06:00	24%	0%	0%	97%	24135m
07:00	27%	0.1%	0%	100%	24135m
08:00	60%	0%	0%	48%	24134m
09:00	57%	0.7%	0%	45%	24135m
10:00	23%	3.6%	0%	89%	24134m
11:00	23%	5.2%	0%	87%	24134m
12:00	25%	3.7%	0%	8.9%	24135m
13:00	21%	6.8%	0%	100%	24135m
14:00	74%	10%	0%	25%	24134m
15:00	31%	8.4%	0%	100%	24134m
16:00	33%	1.9%	1.1%	100%	14175m
17:00	50%	0.7%	0%	82%	24134m
18:00	33%	0.1%	0%	4.3%	12559m
19:00	10%	0.1%	0%	3.6%	18341m
20:00	11%	0%	0%	5%	24134m
21:00	4.3%	0%	0%	5%	24135m
22:00	3.8%	0%	0%	0%	24134m
23:00	3.5%	0.2%	0%	0%	24134m
Fri, Apr 10
24:00	3.4%	0%	0%	0%	21297m
01:00	3.6%	0%	0%	0.2%	24134m
02:00	3.3%	0%	0%	3.2%	24134m
03:00	3.6%	0%	0%	0%	24135m
04:00	5.4%	13%	0%	0%	24135m
05:00	54%	43%	0%	0%	19360m
06:00	58%	71%	1.1%	0%	22072m
07:00	61%	78%	0%	2.7%	16688m
08:00	63%	66%	1.2%	5%	15650m
09:00	49%	77%	0%	5%	24134m
10:00	26%	90%	0%	3.8%	24134m
11:00	24%	92%	0%	2.7%	24135m
12:00	30%	79%	1%	2.7%	24135m
13:00	31%	34%	0%	0%	10249m
14:00	30%	13%	0%	0%	11688m
15:00	48%	15%	0%	0.3%	13315m
16:00	30%	6.7%	0%	0%	15056m
17:00	27%	0.3%	0%	0%	14604m
18:00	27%	0.1%	0%	0%	12584m
19:00	15%	0.1%	0%	7.3%	13860m
20:00	15%	0%	3.1%	59%	9464m
21:00	15%	0.3%	4.2%	43%	11148m
22:00	15%	39%	3.7%	90%	9582m
23:00	14%	87%	4.6%	99%	13094m
Sat, Apr 11
24:00	12%	86%	5%	100%	15149m
01:00	0%	75%	4.8%	68%	13033m
02:00	0%	63%	4.6%	36%	10917m
03:00	0%	52%	4.4%	4.8%	8801m
04:00	0%	36%	3.5%	24%	8498m
05:00	79%	21%	2.7%	42%	8195m
06:00	49%	5%	1.8%	61%	7893m
07:00	48%	6.6%	2.3%	73%	7105m
08:00	28%	8.2%	2.7%	85%	6318m
09:00	14%	9.8%	3.2%	97%	5530m
10:00	15%	35%	3.8%	98%	5875m
11:00	15%	60%	4.4%	99%	6220m
12:00	15%	84%	5%	100%	6565m
13:00	22%	89%	11%	88%	6751m
14:00	40%	93%	16%	76%	6938m
15:00	48%	97%	22%	64%	7124m
16:00	60%	91%	16%	70%	8742m
17:00	64%	85%	11%	76%	10359m

How to read: colored cells show whether each predicate requirement is met; highlighted rows mean the full rule matched (an opportunity). For OR groups, only one branch is required, so some OR-branch predicates can be ✕ even in a matching hour.

What does Cloud Drama Score mean?

Inputs that drive the score

This derived score summarizes multiple raw weather signals. The table below shows the supporting inputs hour by hour, so you can see what's pushing the score up or down.

Time America/Costa_Rica	Air Pressure hPa	High Clouds %	Mid-Level Clouds %	Precipitation Chance %	Relative Humidity %	Solar Elevation °	Total Cloud Coverage %	Wind Gusts m/s	Wind Speed m/s
Wed, Apr 8 Sunrise 05:25 Sunset 17:42
19:00 ☾	1007hPa	99%	0%	96%	82%	-20°	99%	1.4m/s	1.2m/s
20:00 ☾	1008hPa	98%	0%	91%	82%	-34°	98%	1m/s	0.86m/s
21:00 ☾	1008hPa	89%	0%	87%	82%	-48°	89%	1.1m/s	0.9m/s
22:00 ☾	1009hPa	46%	0%	89%	82%	-61°	46%	1.1m/s	1.1m/s
23:00 ☾	1009hPa	5%	0%	91%	82%	-71°	5%	1.3m/s	1.2m/s
Thu, Apr 9 Sunrise 05:25 Sunset 17:42
24:00 ☾	1008hPa	11%	0%	93%	82%	-71°	11%	1.7m/s	1.6m/s
01:00 ☾	1007hPa	100%	0%	85%	82%	-62°	100%	2.4m/s	2.2m/s
02:00 ☾	1007hPa	100%	0%	77%	82%	-50°	100%	2.3m/s	2.2m/s
03:00 ☾	1006hPa	99%	0%	69%	81%	-36°	99%	2.1m/s	1.9m/s
04:00 ☾	1007hPa	66%	0%	76%	80%	-21°	66%	2.1m/s	1.9m/s
05:00 ☾	1008hPa	100%	0%	83%	80%	-6.8°	100%	2.1m/s	2m/s
06:00	1008hPa	97%	0%	90%	79%	7.9°	97%	2.2m/s	1.9m/s
07:00	1009hPa	100%	0%	90%	74%	23°	100%	1.7m/s	1.5m/s
08:00	1009hPa	48%	0%	90%	71%	37°	48%	1.6m/s	1.6m/s
09:00	1009hPa	45%	0%	91%	70%	52°	45%	1.6m/s	1.9m/s
10:00	1009hPa	89%	0%	93%	70%	67°	89%	2.2m/s	2.9m/s
11:00	1009hPa	87%	0%	95%	69%	81°	87%	2.5m/s	3.4m/s
12:00	1007hPa	9%	0%	97%	68%	83°	9%	2.8m/s	3.7m/s
13:00	1007hPa	100%	0%	92%	68%	69°	100%	3.2m/s	4m/s
14:00	1006hPa	25%	0%	87%	70%	54°	25%	3.4m/s	4m/s
15:00	1006hPa	100%	0%	82%	73%	39°	100%	3.2m/s	3.5m/s
16:00	1006hPa	100%	1%	87%	75%	24°	100%	3.2m/s	3.2m/s
17:00	1006hPa	82%	0%	92%	80%	9.7°	82%	3.4m/s	2.8m/s
18:00 ☾	1007hPa	4%	0%	97%	84%	-5°	4%	3.1m/s	2.4m/s
19:00 ☾	1007hPa	4%	0%	92%	85%	-20°	4%	2.1m/s	1.7m/s
20:00 ☾	1008hPa	5%	0%	87%	84%	-34°	5%	1.8m/s	1.5m/s
21:00 ☾	1008hPa	5%	0%	83%	83%	-48°	5%	2.4m/s	2m/s
22:00 ☾	1008hPa	0%	0%	85%	84%	-61°	0%	2.9m/s	2.4m/s
23:00 ☾	1008hPa	0%	0%	88%	85%	-70°	0%	2.9m/s	2.4m/s
Fri, Apr 10 Sunrise 05:24 Sunset 17:42
24:00 ☾	1007hPa	0%	0%	90%	85%	-71°	0%	2.7m/s	2.3m/s
01:00 ☾	1007hPa	0%	0%	88%	85%	-62°	0%	2.4m/s	2.1m/s
02:00 ☾	1006hPa	3%	0%	85%	84%	-49°	3%	3m/s	2.4m/s
03:00 ☾	1006hPa	0%	0%	83%	84%	-36°	0%	3.4m/s	2.7m/s
04:00 ☾	1007hPa	0%	0%	87%	84%	-21°	13%	3m/s	2.5m/s
05:00 ☾	1007hPa	0%	0%	91%	84%	-6.7°	43%	3.3m/s	2.8m/s
06:00	1008hPa	0%	1%	95%	84%	8°	71%	3.3m/s	2.7m/s
07:00	1008hPa	3%	0%	96%	80%	23°	78%	3.3m/s	2.7m/s
08:00	1009hPa	5%	1%	98%	78%	37°	66%	3.3m/s	2.9m/s
09:00	1009hPa	5%	0%	100%	77%	52°	77%	3.6m/s	3.3m/s
10:00	1009hPa	4%	0%	100%	75%	67°	90%	3.9m/s	3.6m/s
11:00	1008hPa	3%	0%	100%	73%	82°	92%	3.6m/s	3.5m/s
12:00	1007hPa	3%	1%	100%	72%	83°	79%	3.6m/s	3.7m/s
13:00	1007hPa	0%	0%	100%	74%	69°	34%	3.4m/s	3.3m/s
14:00	1006hPa	0%	0%	100%	74%	54°	13%	3.2m/s	3.1m/s
15:00	1006hPa	0%	0%	100%	75%	39°	15%	3.1m/s	3m/s
16:00	1006hPa	0%	0%	100%	77%	24°	7%	2.9m/s	2.8m/s
17:00	1007hPa	0%	0%	100%	80%	9.6°	0%	2.8m/s	2.3m/s
18:00 ☾	1007hPa	0%	0%	100%	83%	-5°	0%	2.5m/s	2m/s
19:00 ☾	1008hPa	7%	0%	95%	84%	-20°	7%	2.6m/s	2m/s
20:00 ☾	1009hPa	59%	3%	91%	84%	-34°	59%	2.1m/s	1.7m/s
21:00 ☾	1009hPa	43%	4%	87%	84%	-48°	43%	1.8m/s	1.5m/s
22:00 ☾	1010hPa	90%	4%	86%	84%	-60°	90%	1.8m/s	1.5m/s
23:00 ☾	1009hPa	99%	5%	85%	84%	-70°	99%	2.3m/s	1.9m/s
Sat, Apr 11 Sunrise 05:23 Sunset 17:42
24:00 ☾	1008hPa	100%	5%	84%	84%	-70°	100%	2.8m/s	2.3m/s
01:00 ☾	1009hPa	68%	5%	79%	83%	-62°	84%	2.5m/s	2m/s
02:00 ☾	1009hPa	36%	5%	74%	81%	-49°	68%	2.2m/s	1.8m/s
03:00 ☾	1010hPa	5%	4%	70%	79%	-35°	52%	1.9m/s	1.5m/s
04:00 ☾	1009hPa	24%	4%	77%	78%	-21°	55%	2.2m/s	1.9m/s
05:00 ☾	1009hPa	42%	3%	85%	76%	-6.6°	58%	2.4m/s	2.3m/s
06:00	1008hPa	61%	2%	93%	75%	8.1°	61%	2.6m/s	2.7m/s
07:00	1008hPa	73%	2%	95%	75%	23°	73%	2.8m/s	2.8m/s
08:00	1007hPa	85%	3%	96%	76%	37°	85%	3m/s	3m/s
09:00	1006hPa	97%	3%	98%	76%	52°	97%	3.2m/s	3.2m/s
10:00	1007hPa	98%	4%	98%	79%	67°	98%	2.9m/s	2.7m/s
11:00	1007hPa	99%	4%	99%	82%	82°	99%	2.5m/s	2.3m/s
12:00	1008hPa	100%	5%	99%	86%	83°	100%	2.2m/s	1.8m/s
13:00	1008hPa	88%	11%	98%	86%	69°	99%	1.8m/s	1.5m/s
14:00	1009hPa	76%	16%	96%	86%	54°	98%	1.4m/s	1.1m/s
15:00	1009hPa	64%	22%	94%	86%	39°	97%	1m/s	0.72m/s
16:00	1009hPa	70%	16%	95%	87%	24°	93%	1.3m/s	0.97m/s
17:00	1009hPa	76%	11%	96%	88%	9.6°	88%	1.5m/s	1.2m/s
18:00 ☾	1008hPa	81%	5%	97%	89%	-5°	83%	1.8m/s	1.5m/s

How to read: these inputs help produce the derived score; they are not requirements by themselves.

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