CEBU will continue to experience occasional heavy rains today and in the coming days, warned the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
Even if Tropical Depression Fabian has already moved out from the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Saturday afternoon, a low pressure area (LPA) has been monitored in the eastern coast of Mindanao.
Fabian, packing maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 75 kph, was last spotted 300 km west northwest of Basco, Batanes outside PAR at 5 p.m. on July 22.
Pagasa officer-in-charge Al Quiblat said the agency is now monitoring the movement of an LPA about 480 km east northeast of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur.
“The LPA is expected to develop into tropical depression in the next 48 hours,” said Quiblat on Saturday afternoon as he warned of heavy rains and thunderstorms affecting areas in Visayas and Mindanao.
Once it turns into a tropical depression, it will be called “Gorgio.”
Quiblat said that the LPA in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur is intensifying the southwest monsoon or Habagat.
The Habagat brings two kinds of clouds – altostratus or the rain-making clouds and cumulonimbus or the thunderstorm-making clouds.
Altostratus clouds cause light to moderate rains that may persist for more than two hours.
Cumulonimbus clouds, as explained by Quiblat, bring heavy rains, thunder, tornado, hail and straight-line winds.
“Bantayanan gyud ni nato labi na kung makasinati ta og init sa buntag unya mokalit og uwan og kusog. Pwede syang maka-create og tornado (We have to monitor [thunderstorms] especially if we experience warm weather in the morning. It can create tornado),” Quiblat said.
Although Pagasa currently does not have the equipment to monitor possible tornadoes, Quiblat said the agency gives two-hour thunderstorm warnings.
“That gives us enough time to prepare,” Quiblat said in Cebuano.
Small fishing vessels are encouraged to always check weather bulletins before sailing off.
The town of Daanbantayan in northern Cebu experienced waterspouts on Friday due to changing weather conditions.
As of July 21, Pagasa recorded 170 millimeters of rainfall in Cebu, about 80 percent of the 202.2 millimeters average rainfall for the month of July.