After showers, hot days ahead

MANILA, Philippines – The weather bureau reported yesterday that after a few days of scattered rain showers and relief from the scorching heat, temperatures are expected to rise again in most parts of the country this week.

“We expect good but warm weather condition to prevail over most parts of the country this week,” said Robert Sawi, senior weather forecaster of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

A cold front has drenched some parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila, last Wednesday providing a brief respite from the extreme heat.

Sawi said the low-pressure area (LPA) spotted east of Mindanao last Saturday was not expected to develop into a tropical cyclone and was likely to dissipate soon.

As of 2 a.m. yesterday, the LPA was located 860 kilometers east of Southern Mindanao.

An LPA is commonly associated with bad weather. A tropical cyclone, if on sea, could be formed in such condition.

A cold front, on the other hand, is the point where cold air from the northern hemisphere meets the warm winds of the equator.

Pagasa said the LPA would bring mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms over Mindanao and Eastern Visayas in the next 24 hours.

The rest of the country, meanwhile, will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

Pagasa said moderate to strong winds blowing from the east to southeast will prevail over Luzon, and coming from the northeast to east over the eastern sections of Visayas and Mindanao. The coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough.

Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate blowing from the northeast to east with slight to moderate seas, it said.