Most of PH to see rains due to LPA, ‘habagat’ — Pagasa

MANILA, Philippines — A new low pressure area (LPA) spotted east of the country and the southwest monsoon would bring rains over large parts of the country Friday, the state weather bureau said.

Weather updates as of 4:00 p.m. from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) showed that the cloud clusters around the shallow LPA, last spotted 530 kilometers east of Virac, Catanduanes, will cause rains in Luzon and Visayas especially its eastern portion.

Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon or Habagat would bring clouds to the western portion of the country.

Pagasa says that the chance of the shallow LPA turning into a tropical depression remains slim, while the other LPA being monitored west of the country has moved out of the Philippine area of responsibility.

“Nakikita natin na mababa pa rin po ‘yong tsansa na maging isang mahinang bagyo itong nasabing low pressure area, pero expect natin within the next 24 hours ay magdadala po ito ng pag-ulan sa malaking bahagi ng ating bansa,” weather specialist Benison Estareja said.

(We are seeing that there is still a low chance that the low pressure area develops into a weak storm, but we can expect within the next 24 hours that it would bring rains to a huge part of the country.)

“Bukod dito sa [LPA], isa pang weather system natin sa ngayon ay ang southwest monsoon na siyang nagbabalik sa ating bansa.  Nakaka-apekto ito ngayon sa western sections of Southern Luzon and Visayas, and nakikita natin hanggang sa early next week ay posible pa rin tayong magkaroon ng Habagat,” he added.

(Aside from the LPA, another weather system that we have monitored is the southwest monsoon.  This affects the western sections of Southern Luzon and Visayas, and we see that the Habagat’s effects would last until next week.)

As a result, Metro Manila, parts of Central Luzon to Southern Luzon, Bicol Region and all the way to Visayas will see cloudy skies with a high chance of rains.

Residents of Mimaropa especially Palawan should also expect light to moderate and at times heavy rains due to the southwest monsoon, while the rest of Luzon may feel isolated rain showers brought by localized thunderstorms.

Temperatures in Luzon will slightly go down, ranging from 25 to 30 degrees Celsius in Metro Manila and 24 to 30 degrees in Legazpi and Puerto Princesa.  The same could be said for Visayas, with highs of only 30 degrees in Tacloban, Cebu, and Iloilo.

In Mindanao, most of the cloud bands would affect Zamboanga City, as temperatures may play around 24 to 30 degrees Celsius, while it may be within 24 to 31 degrees in Davao City, and 23 to 32 degrees in Cagayan de Oro City. / JE