CENTRAL AMERICAN RAINFALL. 
5 
brious. They are often classed together as the tierra tem- 
plada. The last is the cold zone, above 7,500 feet, where 
precipitation is scanty, frosts abound, and snow is no rarity. 
The rainfall in this region is typically tropical and fol¬ 
lows the sun, giving a dry season when the sun is south of 
the equator and a wet season when he is north, and giving 
a maximum rainfall in or near the month when he is in 
the zenith of the station of observation. This means two 
maxima per year; so that there are two rainy seasons, with 
a long and a short interval between them. The long dry 
season is in the months corresponding to our winter and 
spring, and is called the verano. It extends from December 
to April. The wet season is from May to November, and is 
called the invierno , while the short drier season is in August, 
and is called the veranillo or little verano; also the verano de 
Augosto. As a simple means of distinguishing these seasons, 
verano (long dry), invierno (wet), and veranillo (short dry) will 
be used. 
Following the seasons through, we have this succession: 
Beginning with the height of the verano, in April, the weather 
is serene, clear, and the hottest of the year. On the plateaus 
it is delightful. With May or June the rainy season {in¬ 
vierno) sets in.' It is due to local storms, with a striking 
diurnal course. The morning is cool and fresh. In the later 
hours of the forenoon cumulus clouds begin to appear about 
the mountain peaks, and are specially picturesque when 
hanging about volcanoes. They steadily grow and spread 
until cirrus streaks begin to extend from their tops, their 
bases become dark and threatening, and finally, late in the 
afternoon, the lightning flashes brilliantly, the thunder is 
loud and startling in its suddenness, and cataracts of water 
fall from the clouds. This lasts but a short time, and before 
one retires at night the sky is again clear and the stars re¬ 
markably brilliant. These thunderstorm phenomena grad¬ 
ually increase in daily duration and intensity, extending 
especially into the night, until the time of maximum rain¬ 
fall, in June. At that time it may begin to rain early in 
the afternoon and continue nearly all night. The thunder- 
