Pagasa: Dante exits Phl, but rains will continue

MANILA, Philippines - Tropical Storm Dante (international name Yagi) exited Philippine territory Monday night but state weathermen said the southwest monsoon will continue to dump rains over some parts of the country in the next few days.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the southwest monsoon will continue to drench the western section of Southern Luzon and the Visayas.

The weather bureau on Monday officially declared the start of the rainy season in the country.

The regions of Mimaropa, Calabarzon, Bicol and the Visayas as well as the provinces of Bataan, Zambales and Pangasinan will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rainshowers and thunderstorms.

Residents of Metro Manila and the rest of the country, on the other hand, will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.

Dante was spotted at 1,280 kilometers northeast of Basco, Batanes or 680 km east southeast of Okinawa, Japan at 10:30 p.m. Monday.

It packed winds of 85 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 100 kph as it moved north-northeast at 17 kph.