Pagasa: Rainy weekend in Luzon

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported yesterday that rains would prevail over most parts of the country this weekend due to two weather systems.

Pagasa said the tailend of a cold front would still affect Northern Luzon while an intertropical convergence zone would continue to prevail over Central and Southern Luzon.

“Northern Luzon will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers while Central and Southern Luzon will have mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms,” Pagasa said in its 5 p.m. weather bulletin.

“The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening,” it said.

Pagasa Administrator Prisco Nilo said an early onset of the rainy season would likely occur in the country if a tropical cyclone develops this month.

“The development of a tropical cyclone may trigger the early onset of the rainy season associated with the southwest monsoon,” Nilo said.

He said a 25-millimeter rainfall requirement and a southwest monsoon that should be the prevailing wind system are just some of the criteria used in declaring the onset of the rainy season.

Nilo said a total of 25 mm of rainfall must be recorded for five consecutive days in five weather stations in the western part of the country to say that the rainy season has indeed arrived.

He said although the amount of rainfall recorded in the past several days has already exceeded the 25-mm requirement, the southwest monsoon is still not the prevailing wind system in the country.

The usual onset of the rainy season is during the second or third week of May.

Meanwhile, Pagasa said moderate to occasionally strong winds blowing from the southeast would prevail over the eastern section of Luzon and the coastal waters along these areas would be moderate to occasionally rough.