Amihan rains to help increase water supply, aid farm lands this February

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Get your rain gears as it will be a rainy Monday tomorrow, February 17, 2020.

The state weather bureau said the Northeast monsoon (Amihan) would enhance this coming week and would bring rains and thunderstorms here in metro Cebu and most of the Visayas.

Jhomer Eclarino, a weather specialist at the Mactan Station of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said moderate to rough seas might also be expected as the effects of Amihan would be expected to intensify.

Since February 1, 2020, the rainfall volume measured by Pagasa already reached 180.1 millimeters (mm) or 125 percent more than the monthly normal rainfall volume of 80 mm.

But the constant rains, Eclarino said, would not be all bad especially for the the water reservoirs and the agriculture sector.

“Niadtong January nag-below normal man ta. So karong February medyo nakabawi ta, and this is a good thing not only for agriculture but also sa atong water supply,” Eclarino told CDN Digital via phone on Sunday, February 16.

(Last January the rainfall was below normal. So this February we got more than the rainfall volume for the month and this is a good thing not only for agriculture but also for our water supply.)

The cold weather that would also be expected to prevail this week with the temperature dropping to as low as 23 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature was expected to be at 35 degrees Celsius, Eclarino said.

Pagasa recorded the coldest weather so far at 22.4 degrees Celsius on February 4./dbs