Low-pressure area to leave RP today

MANILA, Philippines – The low-pressure area which has brought isolated rain showers the past few days is expected to move out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) today, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said yesterday.

But weather forecasters advised the public to still bring umbrellas to protect themselves against isolated rain showers, especially in the afternoon.

Weather forecaster Bobby Javier said as of 2 p.m. yesterday, the low-pressure area was estimated at 460 kilometers north northeast of Basco, Batanes.

Javier said Metro Manila residents should also expect warmer weather with the exit of the low-pressure area.

From 34.9 degrees Celsius that was recorded yesterday, today’s temperature is expected to climb up to between 25 and 35 degrees Celsius, he said.

But even if the low-pressure area goes away, the inter-tropical convergence zone would still affect Mindanao and parts of the Visayas.

At 5 p.m. Pagasa said Northern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao would experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country would be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms, mostly in the afternoon or evening.

Moderate to strong winds blowing from the south to southwest would prevail over Northern Luzon, while coastal waters would be moderate to rough.

By the first or second week of June, Pagasa is expecting rain more often.

Javier said there remains a 35 percent possibility that the country would experience La Niña or an above ordinary volume of rainfall during the third quarter of the year or between July and September.