Expect a wet New Year's Day

Filipinos can expect a rainy New Year’s Day as the tail-end of a cold front continues to dump rains over the eastern parts of the country, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said yesterday.

Pagasa Director Prisco Nilo said rains would prevail over Southern Luzon, the Visayas and northeastern Mindanao on New Year’s Day.

The rest of the country would be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms, he said.

Nilo, however, said no tropical cyclone is predicted to affect the country this week despite the expected rain showers.

He said widespread rains would prevail over eastern Mindanao in the next few days and Pagasa warned the people to be on alert for flashfloods and landslides.

The cold front, a weather system that forms clouds and induces rain during cold months, is the result of a convergence of cold, dry air from the northeasterly winds and the relatively warm, moist air from the easterly winds.

Meanwhile, Nilo said moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast would prevail over Luzon and the Visayas and the coastal waters along these areas would be moderate to rough.

Elsewhere, winds would be light to moderate blowing from the northeast and east with slight to moderate seas except during thunderstorms, Nilo added.

“The surge of the northeast monsoon is expected to affect the seaboards of Luzon and the coastal waters along these areas would be rough to very rough,” Nilo said.

“Fishing boats and other small sea craft are advised not to venture out into the sea while larger sea craft are alerted against big waves,” he said.