Rains to prevail this week - Pagasa

MANILA, Philippines - The weather bureau advised yesterday Filipinos to bring their umbrellas daily as frequent rains and thunderstorms are expected to prevail over the country this week as the rainy season draws near.

Nathaniel Servando, administrator of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms will prevail over Palawan, Mindoro, Western Visayas and Mindanao due to the intertropical convergence zone in the next three days.

The rest of the country, including Metro Manila, will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rains or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening, he said.

Servando, however, said the rainy season, associated with the southwest monsoon, has not yet arrived.

“Based on forecast models, it (rainy season) will not yet arrive this week. Although afternoon thunderstorms will be more frequent,” he said.

The southwest monsoon season is usually established in the latter part of May or early June and ends in September, Pagasa said.

– Helen Flores Meanwhile, Servando said the low pressure area off Oriental Mindoro is unlikely to develop into a tropical depression and will not affect Metro Manila.

“It will not intensify into tropical depression. It was already far to affect Metro Manila and it was moving towards the West Philippine Sea as of yesterday afternoon,” he said.

PAGASA said one to two tropical cyclones usually enter the country in May.