Philippines likely storm-free this month

MANILA, Philippines - The country is likely to be storm-free this month, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said on Friday.

PAGASA weather forecaster Glaiza Escullar said the weather bureau expects zero to one tropical cyclone to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) this month.

Escullar also said the agency has not detected any weather disturbance near PAR that may develop into a tropical cyclone until the weekend.

She said with the northeast monsoon or "hanging amihan" being the dominant weather system in the country, many areas will continue to experience fair weather with cold mornings except for extreme northern Luzon.

The presence of northeast monsoon will bring cloudy skies in Cagayan Valley Region and the provinces of Aurora and Quezon while partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains will prevail over the regions of Cordillera, Ilocos and the rest of Central Luzon.

"Fishing boats and other small seacrafts are advised not to venture out into the sea while larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves,” PAGASA warned.

Escullar added that fair weather or partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated thunderstorms will be experienced over Metro Manila and the rest of the country.

The temperature in Metro Manila will be in the 22-31 degrees Celsius range on Friday.