THIS week will continue to be rainy, especially in the afternoon, due to the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and the southwest monsoon.
Alfredo Quiblat, head of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services (Pagasa) Mactan station, said the southwest monsoon will prevail today until Wednesday.
This will cause isolated rain showers especially in the afternoon. Thunderstorms may also be experienced.
“From isolated rain showers, rains will be light to moderate due to the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ),” Quiblat told Cebu Daily News. He reminded the public to watch out for floods and landslides.
Two low pressure areas (LPAs) have been monitored outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), but chances are dim that these will strengthen to typhoons.
“September has the most number of typhoons. For this month, two to four typhoons are expected to enter PAR,” Quiblat said.
The El Niño phenomenon, however, is still in progress and could last until early next year. This could be the strongest El Niño since 1950, Quiblat said.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said the Philippines experienced strong El Niño three times in 1982-1983 , 1997-1998, and 2002-2003.
The weather station has forecast a dry spell from September to November and the onset of a drought by December.