By Brian Campued
The rainy season in the Philippines has officially begun, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced Monday.
In a press release, the state weather bureau said it had observed “scattered to widespread” rainfall in the past five days from its selected monitoring stations across the country due to the southwest monsoon or “habagat”.
Based on latest weather analysis and rainfall data, PAGASA said this occurrence of rain, “signifies the onset of the rainy season across the western sections of Luzon and Visayas.”
According to PAGASA’s criteria, the onset of the rainy season shall be declared if there were cumulative 25 millimeters of rainfall for five days across at least seven or more than half of its monitoring stations, with at least 1 mm of rainfall for three consecutive days; prevailing winds blowing from the west or southwest.
“However, there may still be breaks in the rainfall that extend over a few days or weeks, referred to as monsoon breaks,” the agency added.
On May 30, the state weather bureau announced the start of the habagat in the country.
Habagat to dump rains in Luzon; ITCZ to dampen parts of Mindanao
In its 4:00 A.M. update, PAGASA said cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms caused by habagat will affect Ilocos Region and provinces of Abra, Benguet, Zambales, Bataan, Tarlac, and Pampanga this Tuesday.
The southwest monsoon will also prevail across Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, bringing partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.
The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) will likewise bring cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms over Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, Sarangani, Davao Occidental, and Davao Oriental.
Meanwhile, the rest of the country will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms due to localized thunderstorms.
All residents in the areas forecast with inclement weather are advised to stay alert as flash floods and landslides are possible due to moderate to heavy rains or severe thunderstorms.
-jpv
