A “tropical wave” – weatherman-speak for rain, rain and more rain – is likely to traverse Costa Rica today, said the National Meteorological Institute yesterday.

Meteorologist Evelyn Quirós said the weather system, called an onda tropical in Spanish, will start early morning on the Caribbean side and sweep across the country, with the chance of becoming a tropical storm after it spills over into the Pacific Ocean by early evening.

Saturday and Sunday should see scattered showers typical of the late rainy season, but no more onda, she said.

The wave is common for October but puts a damper on efforts to rebuild some 300 homes, many in Cartago and eastern San José, that were soaked and pummeled in last week's heavy rains and runoff from overflowing rivers. Dozens of families took shelter in churches-turned-dry-havens, as emergency officials issued “green” and then “yellow” alerts – first and second weather warning levels – and emergency workers raced to evacuate residents and begin rebuilding.

A weakening Hurricane Norbert headed toward Mexico's Baja California yesterday, while Tropical Storm Odile – which as a low-pressure system dumped on Costa Rica last week – gained steam off Mexico's Pacific coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center reported.