‘Lagalag’ to bring rains to Metro

A tropical depression east of northern Luzon is expected to bring monsoon rains to Metro Manila and much of the country’s west, according to the government weather forecasting center.

Packing 55-kilometer-per-hour winds, tropical depression "Lagalag" was spotted yesterday afternoon at 270 kilometers east-southeast of Aparri town in Cagayan, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

Meanwhile, forecasters said they have spotted a low pressure area just off the coast of Aparri which, they said, may bring more rains.

Moving slowly west-northwest, Lagalag is expected to be 180 kilometers east of Aparri by this afternoon.

By tomorrow afternoon, forecasters expect Lagalag to be 70 kilometers northeast of Aparri or 170 kilometers south of Basco, Batanes.

By Sunday, Lagalag is expected to be well out of the country or 155 kilometers west of Basco.

PAGASA said the tropical depression might induce monsoon rains across the western section of Luzon and the Visayas.

The weather bureau raised Signal No. 1 of a three-level storm alert over the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Aurora, Batanes, Cagayan, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte and Sur, Isabela, Kalinga, Mt. Province, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino, and the islands of Babuyan, Calayan and Polilio.