Pagasa: Prepare for rainy days ahead

Those who are planning a family getaway during the long weekend are advised to bring their umbrellas with them.

Van Singson of Pagasa Mactan said that moderate to occasionally heavy raining is expected to affect Cebu province in the next two days.

Rains, Singon said, will result from a prevailing Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) that is now affecting southern Luzon and the Visayas.

The ITCZ is expected to also cause cloudy skies and strong gusts of winds in affected areas.

“We are also expecting slight to moderate disturbances of our sea waters,” Singson added.

ITCZ is a meteorological term used to define the cluster of thunderclouds that bring heavy rains and thunderstorms and mostly found in tropical countries like the Philippines. Storms are most likely to develop within the ITCZ.

Pagasa Mactan issued a thunderstorm advisory in Bogo City and Tabogon town in northern Cebu at around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and advised residents of the two localities to avoid going outdoors to avoid the threat of lighting and thunderstorm strikes.

Raining in the two localities lasted for at least 30 minutes, the Pagasa advisory said.

With the occasional raining experienced in Cebu province, Pagasa already recorded rainfall volume of 107.3 millimeters on Sunday which is 40.9 millimeters short of the month’s rain volume.

Singson said more rainfall can be expected if a low pressure area develops in the coming days.

The central office of Pagasa reported on Saturday the presence of a Low Pressure Area around 1,120 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan in Northern Luzon as of 3 p.m. on Saturday and is expected to develop into a tropical depression in the next 24 to 36 hours.