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Rule Golden Hour

Turrialba - Golden Hour - Costa Rica

Turrialba, Cartago Province, Costa Rica

That magical warm light just after sunrise or before sunset

No opportunities right now
Here’s what usually blocks matches

No Golden Hour opportunities in the next 14 days

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Rule requirements (key thresholds)
Golden Hour · Any Golden Hour Potential · ≥ 80.0% Precipitation Chance · ≤ 5.0% Visibility · ≥ 1000.0m

Tip: Scroll down to the 72-hour table to see exactly which condition fails hour by hour.

Most common blockers (next 72 hours)
Precipitation Chance 100% failing
Golden Hour Potential 99% failing
Golden Hour 83% failing

Currently

Real-time conditions
Low Cloud Cover69%
Mid Cloud Cover7%
High Cloud Cover18%
Sun Elevation24.1° (Daylight)

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in America/Costa_Rica

No opportunities in the next 10 days

See the blocker timeline below to understand which conditions are preventing matches.

What this forecast looks for

Plain-language explanation from the rule

This forecast identifies optimal golden hour conditions for Costa Rica's diverse tropical landscapes—from volcanic peaks to Pacific sunsets to Caribbean jungle. We track cloud cover, visibility, and atmospheric conditions to predict when warm directional light enhances the country's remarkable natural features across multiple microclimates.

Costa Rica's position near the equator provides consistent year-round golden hour timing, with sunrise around 5:30-6:00 AM and sunset around 5:30-6:00 PM depending on season. The country's remarkable geographic diversity—Pacific coast, Caribbean coast, volcanic highlands, and cloud forests—each offers unique golden hour opportunities enhanced by tropical atmospheric conditions.

What makes Costa Rica golden-hour photography distinctive:

  • Volcanic silhouettes - Arenal's perfect cone from La Fortuna at sunrise, Rincón de la Vieja at sunset, Turrialba's active crater catching first light
  • Pacific sunsets - Tamarindo and Manuel Antonio's spectacular sunset colors enhanced by tropical humidity and ocean atmosphere
  • Rainforest light - Golden shafts penetrating jungle canopy at Drake Bay and Tortuguero create magical filtered light effects
  • Microclimate diversity - Photograph golden hour in cloud forest mist at Monteverde, then Pacific sunset the same day only hours away

Arenal Volcano from La Fortuna viewpoints provides Costa Rica's most iconic golden hour composition—the symmetrical cone catching sunrise light while lowland jungle remains shadowed. Tamarindo's Pacific beaches offer reliable sunset photography with dramatic colors reflecting off wet sand and tide pools. Manuel Antonio's combination of rainforest-clad hills meeting white-sand coves creates layered sunset compositions. La Fortuna waterfall receives beautiful morning light that illuminates its 70-meter drop and emerald pool. Tortuguero's canal system develops rich golden reflections during morning hours when water is calm. The green season (May-November) can produce spectacular post-storm golden hour light when clouds break.

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72-hour requirements breakdown

What passed or failed, hour by hour
0matching hours in the next 80 hours
AND logic: all conditions required
Meets requirement
Misses requirement
Time
America/Costa_Rica
Golden Hour
Any
Golden Hour Potential
≥ 80.0%
Precipitation Chance
≤ 5.0%
Visibility
≥ 1000.0m
Sat, May 23
22:0028%15%21049m
23:0024%19%20941m
Sun, May 24
24:0024%22%24134m
01:0030%53%20968m
02:0030%67%20892m
03:0029%82%1020m
04:0060%88%20867m
05:0056%94%1397m
06:0033%100%20860m
07:0032%100%20858m
08:0026%100%22253m
09:0035%100%24134m
10:0026%100%18166m
11:0023%100%16322m
12:0026%100%6050m
13:0023%97%4522m
14:0026%93%1506m
15:0025%90%16183m
16:0024%91%14027m
17:0049%91%13959m
18:0049%92%18732m
19:0020%87%12399m
20:0016%83%4564m
21:0015%78%280m
22:0015%79%250m
23:0016%81%199m
Mon, May 25
24:0018%82%404m
01:0029%82%2406m
02:0031%82%20816m
03:0032%82%20812m
04:0062%83%24135m
05:0063%85%24134m
06:0032%86%24135m
07:0032%88%24134m
08:0034%90%24134m
09:0035%92%24134m
10:0032%95%21230m
11:0030%97%23403m
12:0028%100%20196m
13:0030%98%24135m
14:0025%97%24134m
15:0021%95%14493m
16:0019%96%24134m
17:0046%97%24134m
18:0040%98%9549m
19:0015%78%5894m
20:0019%58%15512m
21:0021%39%16341m
22:0019%43%20956m
23:0021%48%21004m
Tue, May 26
24:0021%52%20967m
01:0024%42%24134m
02:0025%31%21749m
03:0024%21%21974m
04:0064%46%21066m
05:0065%72%3201m
06:0033%97%21133m
07:0032%98%24134m
08:0034%99%24135m
09:0032%100%19937m
10:0027%100%20054m
11:0023%100%11419m
12:0019%100%3129m
13:007.2%85%8127m
14:007.2%71%13125m
15:007.6%56%18124m
16:007.8%60%20127m
17:0044%65%22131m
18:0044%69%24135m
19:008.2%54%24135m
20:008.2%39%24135m
21:008.3%24%24135m
22:009.3%24%24135m
23:009.7%24%24135m
Wed, May 27
24:009.6%24%24135m
01:0010%37%24135m
02:0011%51%24135m
03:0012%65%24135m
04:0070%67%24135m
05:0082%69%24135m
How to read: colored cells show whether each predicate requirement is met; highlighted rows mean the full rule matched (an opportunity).

What does Golden Hour Potential 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
Golden Hour
High Clouds
%
Low Clouds
%
Mid-Level Clouds
%
Relative Humidity
%
Total Cloud Coverage
%
Wind Speed
m/s
Sun, May 24 Sunrise 05:12 Sunset 17:50
07:00
- 18% 69% 7% 93% 69% 1.3m/s
08:00
- 5% 59% 68% 87% 72% 1.8m/s
09:00
- 4% 38% 5% 80% 38% 2.2m/s
10:00
- 1% 52% 2% 79% 52% 2.5m/s
11:00
- 2% 54% 5% 83% 54% 2.6m/s
12:00
- 43% 54% 16% 86% 61% 2.6m/s
13:00
- 55% 56% 16% 88% 64% 2.4m/s
14:00
- 42% 57% 13% 90% 61% 2.4m/s
15:00
- 24% 62% 6% 91% 63% 2m/s
16:00
- 11% 69% 5% 92% 69% 1.8m/s
17:00
- 67% 96% 8% 95% 96% 1.5m/s
18:00
- 94% 98% 54% 95% 98% 1.2m/s
19:00
- 100% 98% 5% 96% 100% 0.84m/s
20:00
- 100% 98% 28% 99% 100% 0.81m/s
21:00
- 100% 100% 100% 99% 100% 0.85m/s
22:00
- 99% 100% 100% 99% 100% 0.95m/s
23:00
- 100% 100% 95% 99% 100% 0.93m/s
Mon, May 25 Sunrise 05:12 Sunset 17:50
24:00
- 100% 89% 40% 99% 100% 0.86m/s
01:00
- 71% 73% 6% 98% 74% 0.96m/s
02:00
- 75% 70% 2% 97% 77% 1.2m/s
03:00
- 41% 72% 0% 96% 72% 1.2m/s
04:00
- 88% 70% 0% 96% 89% 0.98m/s
05:00
- 97% 67% 0% 96% 97% 1m/s
06:00
- 99% 50% 1% 96% 99% 1.1m/s
07:00
- 86% 52% 1% 93% 89% 1.3m/s
08:00
- 71% 25% 1% 84% 71% 1.7m/s
09:00
- 98% 14% 4% 76% 98% 2.3m/s
10:00
- 62% 15% 4% 70% 62% 2.6m/s
11:00
- 64% 13% 4% 69% 64% 2.9m/s
12:00
- 100% 20% 5% 68% 100% 3m/s
13:00
- 100% 30% 5% 70% 100% 3m/s
14:00
- 100% 52% 6% 74% 100% 3m/s
15:00
- 100% 68% 7% 84% 100% 2.6m/s
16:00
- 100% 80% 7% 90% 100% 2m/s
17:00
- 100% 85% 7% 93% 100% 1.6m/s
18:00
- 100% 87% 7% 94% 100% 1.3m/s
19:00
- 100% 85% 10% 96% 100% 0.79m/s
20:00
- 100% 85% 7% 96% 100% 0.73m/s
21:00
- 100% 86% 5% 95% 100% 0.47m/s
22:00
- 100% 86% 76% 92% 100% 0.91m/s
23:00
- 100% 85% 43% 95% 100% 0.55m/s
Tue, May 26 Sunrise 05:12 Sunset 17:50
24:00
- 100% 77% 98% 95% 100% 0.59m/s
01:00
- 97% 45% 90% 95% 97% 0.5m/s
02:00
- 100% 46% 94% 97% 100% 0.24m/s
03:00
- 61% 54% 86% 96% 90% 0.32m/s
04:00
- 5% 87% 46% 97% 87% 0.4m/s
05:00
- 13% 67% 10% 96% 68% 0.4m/s
06:00
- 92% 23% 5% 94% 92% 0.4m/s
07:00
- 97% 14% 5% 85% 97% 1.1m/s
08:00
- 100% 22% 39% 76% 100% 1.5m/s
09:00
- 79% 34% 5% 72% 79% 2.1m/s
10:00
- 96% 38% 5% 74% 96% 2.4m/s
11:00
- 74% 69% 35% 79% 85% 2.4m/s
12:00
- 89% 84% 42% 84% 94% 2.1m/s
13:00
- 92% 70% 61% 87% 96% 2.2m/s
14:00
- 95% 56% 81% 91% 98% 2.3m/s
15:00
- 99% 42% 100% 94% 100% 2.4m/s
16:00
- 93% 30% 100% 93% 100% 2.6m/s
17:00
- 87% 18% 100% 92% 100% 2.9m/s
18:00
- 81% 5% 100% 91% 100% 3.1m/s
19:00
- 87% 5% 94% 90% 100% 2.6m/s
20:00
- 94% 5% 88% 89% 100% 2.1m/s
21:00
- 100% 5% 82% 88% 100% 1.7m/s
22:00
- 91% 3% 76% 89% 94% 1.5m/s
23:00
- 81% 2% 71% 89% 88% 1.3m/s
Wed, May 27 Sunrise 05:12 Sunset 17:51
24:00
- 72% 0% 65% 89% 81% 1.2m/s
01:00
- 81% 0% 49% 80% 87% 1.2m/s
02:00
- 89% 0% 34% 72% 92% 1.2m/s
03:00
- 98% 0% 18% 63% 98% 1.3m/s
04:00
- 66% 15% 22% 61% 81% 1.7m/s
05:00
- 35% 31% 26% 60% 65% 2.1m/s
06:00
- 4% 46% 30% 59% 48% 2.6m/s
How to read: these inputs help produce the derived score; they are not requirements by themselves.

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