PAGASA: La Niña to linger until May

Looks like we’ll be having a "cool" summer this year as the prevailing La Niña weather phenomenon is likely to continue through the month of May, according to the weather bureau.

"Recent weather events have confirmed the occurrence of a weak La Niña, which has continued to prevail over the equatorial Pacific. A majority of international climate prediction centers agree that this episode is likely to continue through May this year," the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said yesterday.

Earlier, PAGASA weather branch chief Nathaniel Cruz told The STAR the "signature" of La Niña is "cooler than normal sea surface temperature (SST) in the Eastern Pacific covering the coasts of Peru and warmer than normal SST over the Western Pacific including the Philippines."

The La Niña is an unusual phenomenon which enhances the easterlies that bring rain clouds, causing an unusual rainfall pattern in most parts of the country, Cruz said.

He added that many parts of the country may experience more rains due to persistently warmer than normal sea surface temperature around the Philippines.

According to PAGASA, rainfall conditions in March are expected to be wetter than normal in most parts of Northern Luzon and near-normal to above-normal rainfall is likely in Southern Luzon and in the Visayas while near-normal rainfall condition will prevail in most parts of Mindanao.

"Weather systems that may affect the country in March are the northeast monsoon, the tail-end of cold front, the easterly wave and the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)," PAGASA said.

There is a probability that one tropical cyclone will form or enter the Philippine area of responsibility during the month, PAGASA added. — Felix de los Santos