The faithful plod through rain-riddled streets to attend Mass (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA).
It will be a wet New Year’s Day as the weather bureau has forecast rains on the first day of 2017.
Romeo Aguirre, weather specialist for Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services (Pagasa) Mactan, said on Friday that the extension of the low pressure area (LPA) had been affecting the Visayas.
“It’s cloudy in the morning (January 1) but in the afternoon or evening it will rain,” Aguirre told Cebu Daily News.
The LPA, which is at the east of Mindanao, is moving toward the Palawan area, but so far, based on Pagasa’s model, there is a low chance for it to become a tropical cyclone.
“The prevailing northeast monsoon (Amihan) has affected the LPA from becoming a tropical cyclone. The LPA will just dissipate,” Aguirre said.
The northeast monsoon or the ‘Amihan’ wind brings rainfall and cold winds from Siberia. The weather bureau officially announced the onset of Amihan last November 1.
In January, at least one tropical cyclone is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). Normal average of rainfall is 126.4 millimeters.
Aguirre said that the month of January based on historical data is the coldest month of the year with an average temperature of 19 to 24 degrees Celsius.
An improved weather condition is expected on Wednesday or on January 4.