Light rains may affect several areas starting Friday as the country gears up to commemorate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, due to the effects of several weather systems, the state weather bureau said on Thursday afternoon.
Updates from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) showed that three weather systems currently affect the country – an intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) over the southern part of the country, the northeast monsoon or amihan up north, and the shear line on the northeastern side.
Pagasa defines ITCZ as the area where winds from the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere converge. The shearline, on the other hand, is the part where cold winds from the northeast monsoon and warm winds due to the easterlies meet, causing moisture and eventually, rain showers.
‘From today until tomorrow, rains are possible because first, due to the intertropical convergence zone or the meeting point of winds from the northern and southern hemisphere,’ Pagasa weather specialist Leanne Loreto said, speaking in Filipino.
‘This ITCZ, we can see that these are the clouds around Southern Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Rains are also possible starting this afternoon over Metro Manila, including areas in Calabarzon and Mimaropa, Western Visayas, Negros Island Region, along with Zamboanga Peninsula, BARMM [Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao], Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental,’ she added.
Due to the ITCZ, Pagasa warned of possible flash floods in Palawan and Zamboanga del Norte, as the amount of rain for Friday may range from 50 millimeters to 100 millimeters.
The northeast monsoon and the shearline, meanwhile, would bring light rains over Batanes and the rest of extreme northern Luzon.
‘The northeast monsoon will bring light rains over Batanes [.] and we can also see that the shear line which is a line of clouds that can possibly bring rains and thunderstorms, lightning strikes over Cagayan, Aurora, and even Isabela,’ Loreto noted.
Pagasa is also monitoring a low pressure area (LPA) located 1,805 kilometers east of Mindanao, way outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR). Another area that Pagasa is monitoring is the Sulu Sea, as they expect a second LPA to be formed due to the ITCZ.
‘This possible low pressure area will move northwestward towards Palawan, then outside our Philippine area of responsibility. And so these cloud clusters near the Mindoro-Palawan area are being monitored. Second, there is an LPA outside our PAR [.] and this can still develop,’ she added.
For Friday, Pagasa said that temperatures in Luzon may be a little lower than usual due to the rains, ranging from 25 to 32 degrees Celsius in Laoag and Metro Manila; 24 to 31 degrees in Tuguegarao; 18 to 24 degrees in Baguio City; 23 to 28 degrees in Tagaytay; 26 to 31 degrees in Legazpi; and 25 to 29 degrees in Palawan.
The same scenario is expected for Visayas and Mindanao, with temperatures playing between 25 to 30 degrees Celsius in Iloilo and Cebu; 24 to 30 degrees in Tacloban; 24 to 31 degrees in Zamboanga; 23 to 31 degrees in Davao; and 24 to 29 degrees in Cagayan de Oro.
No gale warning has been raised over any part of the country, but Pagasa warned that sea conditions over the northern Luzon seaboard may range from moderate to rough, with waves ranging from 1.5 meters to 2.8 meters.