Back to warmer weather for Cebu

But Pagasa says there may still be rains this month

It’s back to warmer weather for Cebu due to the easterly winds that will raise temperatures for the rest of the week, the Mactan office of the state weather bureau Pagasa said yesterday.

Pagasa weather specialist Romeo Aguirre said the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) that caused the rains last week has mostly dissipated.

“The easterly wind is back and we will again experience hot days ahead,” Aguirre said.

The ITCZ is a series of low pressure areas (LPA) caused by the winds from the Northern and Southern Hemisphere that meet at the equator.

Winds that meet at the equator tend to bring masses of clouds of varying cooler temperatures.

This week, average weather temperature ranged from 30 to 32 degrees Celsius with a heat index of 40 degrees Celsius.

The heat index is the actual temperature felt by the human body due to a combination of air temperature and humidity.

The heat island effect or the presence of building and structures also contribute to raising the heat index.

Aguirre said May has been considered the hottest month of the year.

The hottest recorded temperature of 37 degrees Celsius and a heat index of more than 40 degrees Celsius occurred on May 31, 2010.

This month, Pagasa recorded the hottest temperature of 34.5 degrees Celsius and heat index of 40 degrees Celsius last May 2.

Aguirre said it’s still possible that it may rain this month since the previous months had above average rainfall.

Last March, the normal average rainfall was 51 millimeters while its accumulated rainfall is 93.9 millimeters.

Last month, normal average of rainfall was 50 millimeters with an accumulated rainfall of 224.7 millimeters.

Aguirre said the normal average rainfall for May is 106 millimeters.

As of yesterday, Pagasa Mactan recorded 37.7 millimeters of rainfall.