The southwest monsoon, or habagat, season has officially ended, but the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) will continue to bring rain to parts of the country, the state weather bureau said Monday.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said changes in the prevailing weather pattern, including the strengthening of a high-pressure system over East Asia and the southward migration of the ITCZ, led to the weakening of habagat-related winds and rainfall.
Pagasa weather specialist Charmagne Varilla said the weather bureau was expecting a transition to easterlies, with rainfall decreasing particularly over western Luzon and Visayas.
Despite the end of the monsoon season, Pagasa, in its 24-hour public weather forecast, said the ITCZ would continue to affect Palawan and Mindanao through Tuesday afternoon.
‘Based on our latest satellite animation, the Intertropical Convergence Zone, or ITCZ, is currently bringing moderate to, at times, heavy rains over Palawan and the entire Mindanao,’ Varilla said.
Visayas, Mindanao, and Palawan may have cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms, with moderate to at times heavy rains that could trigger flash floods and landslides in affected areas.
Metro Manila and the rest of the country, meanwhile, may experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms due to localized thunderstorms.
Pagasa also warned that severe thunderstorms may trigger flash floods or landslides.
Varilla said the ITCZ would continue to bring rainy conditions over the Visayas until Wednesday, while Mindanao would continue to face a high chance of rain over the next three days.
Pagasa was also monitoring Typhoon Choi-Wan, which was outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) as of 3 p.m. Monday.
The typhoon was about 2,570 kilometers east-northeast of extreme northern Luzon, with maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 215 km/h. It was moving northward at 20 km/h.
Varilla said the typhoon was not expected to enter the PAR or directly affect any part of the country.